til?  Sltbrarg  of 
Prtnrrtun  Slj^nlngtral  ^^mtttar^ 

BR  307  .P33  1901  1 

Painter,  F.  V.  N.  1852-1931.| 
The  reformation  dawn 


THE  REFORMATION  DAWN, 

Price  40  cents, 


By  F.  V.  N.  PAINTER,  A.  M.,  D.  D., 


PROFESSOR  OF  MODERN  LANGUAGES  IN  ROANOKE  COLLEGE  AND  AUTHOR  OF 
"  A  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION,"  "  LUTHER  ON  EDUCATION,"  "  HISTORY  OF 
ENGLISH  LITERATURE,"  "  INTRODUCTION  TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE,"  ETC. 


Lu&Vi ex-c\r\  HcMna-loo ok  S&l t. 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA.  t 
LUTHERAN   PUBLICATION   SOCIETY. 


Copyright,  1901, 

BY 

The  Lutheran  Publication  Society. 


PREFACE. 

It  is  believed  that  the  present  work  is  not 
untimely.  In  parts  of  the  Protestant  Church 
there  has  been,  since  the  days  of  the  Tractarian 
movement  in  England,  a  turning  toward  Rome. 
The  righteousness  and  benefits  of  the  Reformation 
are  questioned  among  those  who  owe  their  culture 
and  freedom  to  its  liberating  achievements.  In 
recent  years  the  Papacy,  in  its  zeal  to  re-establish 
its  waning  power,  has  attempted  to  re-write  the 
history  of  the  great  Protestant  movement,  and,  in 
the  interests  of  the  Roman  Church,  to  overthrow 
commonly  accepted  facts.  In  our  country  the 
Papal  power,  with  smooth  plausibility,  is  aggres- 
sive and  contemptuous  in  its  attitude  toward 
Protestantism. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  has  been  thought 
wtII  to  go  over  the  ground  once  more,  and  in  a 
judicial  spirit  investigate  the  facts.  The  character 
and  tendencies  of  Romanism  have  been  inquired 
into,  and  plainly  set  forth  under  the  illumination 
of  history.  The  principles  of  the  reformers  have 
again  been  brought  under  examination  in  the  light 
of  modern  progress.  The  results  of  this  investiga- 
tion are  presented  in  the  present  work.  In  its 
preparation,  recognized  Roman  Catholic  as  well  as 
evangeUcal  Protestant  authorities  have  been  freely 
consulted  and  quoted.  Agnostic  or  skeptical 
writers,  who  make  a  point  of  depreciating  the 
Reformation  in  favor  of  the  Renaissance,  have  not 
been  neglected. 

(iii) 


IV  PREFACE. 

This  investigation,  which  has  not  been  hasty. 
1ms  led  to  the  firm  conviction  that  the  Protestant 
Reformation  was  not  a  mistake,  but  a  righteous 
and  inevitable  movement  demanded,  not  only  by 
the  errors  and  tyranny  of  Rome,  but  also  by  the 
intellectual,  civil,  and  religious  progress  of  our 
race.  The  facts  upon  which  this  conviction  rests 
are  clearly  but  l)riefly  presented  ;  and  their 
perusal,  it  is  believed,  will  hardly  fail  to  demon- 
strate that  the  politico-religious  organization  known 
as  the  Papacy  is  to-day,  as  it  has  been  for  more 
than  five  hundred  years,  a  dangerous  foe  to  the 
intellectual,  jiolitical,  and  religious  freedom  of 
man. 

If,  in  spite  of  the  overwhelming  testimony,  the 
picture  here  given  of  the  corrupt  state  of  the 
Roman  Church  at  the  l)eginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century  still  seems  almost  incredible,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  read  the  report  of  the  Philippine 
Commission  as  submitted  l)y  the  Secretary  of  ^^"ar 
to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  Document 
190.  In  that  report  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
Roman  Church,  especially  through  its  religious 
orders,  exercised  in  the  Philippine  Islands  the 
same  greed  and  tyranny,  deliberately  kept  the 
natives  in  the  same  helpless  ignorance,  and  shame- 
lessly exhibited  the  same  gross  immoralities, 
against  which  the  Teutonic  nations  of  Europe  re- 
belled in  the  Reformation.  The  condition  of  the 
Philippines  under  Si^anish  control  affords  a  strik- 
ing proof  that  the  Papal  system,  when  unrestrained 
by  Protestantism,  naturally  leads  to-day,  as  at  the 
close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  to  popular  ignorance, 
ecclesiastical  oppression,  and  insolent  immorality. 

F.  V.  N.  Painter. 


tibe  IRctormation  2)awn. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction 7 


PART   FIRST. 

THE  PAPAL  SYSTEM,  OUT  OF  WHICH  NATURALLY 
AND  INEVITABLY  GREW  THE  EVILS  LEADING  TO 
THE  REFORMATION. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Growth  and  Organization  of  the  Papacy 17 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Doctrinal  System  of  the  Papacy 33 

CHAPTER  III. 

State  of  the  Church 47 


PART   SECOND. 

INEFFECTUAL     EFFORTS     AT     REFORM     BEFORE     THE 
REFORMATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  INIystics 64 

CHAPTER  II. 
Biblical  Reformers 78 

(V) 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Reformatory  Councils 103 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Literature  and  the  Papacy 114 


PART   THIRD. 

THE    CIRCUMSTANCES   PREPARING    THE  WAY  FOR   THE 
REFORMATION  AND  ITS  BEGINNING. 

CHAPTER  I. 
National  Growth 135 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Renaissance , 146 

CHAPTER  III. 
Preliminary  Conflicts 162 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Beginning  of  the  Reformation  in  Germany 176 

CHAPTER  V. 

Beginning   of    the    Reformation   in  Other  Parts  of 
Europe 217 

Conclusion 235 


THE  REFORMATION  DAWN. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  progress  of  humanity  cannot  be  perma- 
nently stayed.  It  may  be  hindered  or  checked 
for  a  time  by  formidable  obstacles  ;  but,  like  a 
strong  river  stopped  for  a  season  in  its  course,  the 
tide  of  progress  bursts  forth  sooner  or  later  with 
resistless  momentum.  A  divine  breath  lives  in 
humanity  ;  and  with  irresistible  power  mankind 
is  moving  forward  to  greater  intelligence,  freedom, 
and  goodness. 

The  Church,  by  Avhich  is  meant  the  communion 
or  congregation  of  saints,  is  a  divine  institution. 
It  was  founded  by  Christ,  and,  like  the  individual 
Christian,  it  is  a  temple  for  the  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  By  reason  of  its  divine  origin  and 
the  presence  of  divinity  within  it,  the  Church  can- 
not perish.  "  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it. ' '  In  its  outward  manifestation  and  or- 
ganization, it  may,  in  large  measure,  exhibit  hu- 
man infirmity.  Its  official  representatives  may  be 
led  by  erroneous  or  unholy  motives.  Its  splendors 
may  be  hidden  for  a  time ;  but  because  the 
Church,  in  its  essential  nature,  is  divine,  it  will 
rise,  like  its  Lord,  from  the  tomb  of  error  and 
sin. 

The  great  religious  movement  of  the  sixteenth 
centurv,  which  shows  the  indestructible,  recuper- 
(7) 


8  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

ative  energy  resident  in  the  Church,  strikes  its 
roots  deep  in  the  life  of  the  Germanic  race.  It 
was  associated  with  the  earnest  and  sturdy  char- 
acter of  the  people.  It  had,  like  the  coming  of 
Christ,  many  favoring  circumstances,  which  con- 
stituted a  new  ' '  fullness  of  time. ' '  Without  these 
favorable  circumstances,  in  appearance  accidental, 
but  in  reality  providential,  it  would  have  been 
impossible.  After  a  long  period  of  ecclesiastical 
oppression,  the  long-suffering  Teutonic  mind, 
urged  on  and  directed  by  a  divine  impulse,  rose 
in  resistance,  and  achieved  intellectual,  civil,  and 
spiritual  freedom. 

No  greater  movement  had  taken  place  since  the 
advent  of  Christ.  The  Reformation  stands  as  the 
greatest  achievement  of  the  Germanic  race.  It  may 
well  be  taken  as  the  principal  event  separating  the 
larger  life  of  the  modern  world  from  the  narrow 
limitations  of  the  ^Middle  Ages.  There  is  scarcely 
an  important  human  interest  that  it  has  not 
touched  with  a  beneficent  influence.  It  has  se- 
cured greater  purity  and  spirituality  in  religion  ; 
it  has  contriljuted  to  the  elevation  of  the  laity  and 
the  advancement  of  woman  ;  it  has  confirmed  the 
separation  of  the  secular  and  the  ecclesiastical 
power  ;  it  has  brought  intellectual  freedom,  and 
given  an  extraordinary  impulse  to  education,  sci- 
ence, and  literature  ;  it  has  established  the  right 
of  freedom  of  conscience  ;  and,  in  a  word,  it  has 
l)een  favorable  to  all  that  distinguishes  and  en- 
nobles our  modern  civilization. 

The  causes  of  the  religious  revolution,  which 
rescued  the  Teutonic  nations  from  subjection  to 
the  See  of  Rome,  are  found  in  the  doctrinal  errors, 
oppressive  tyranny,  and  wide-spread  corruption  of 
the  Papal  Church.  Toward  the  close  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  the  Paj^acy  had  succeeded  in  building 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

Up  a  monstrous  system  of  usurpation  and  oppres- 
sion. On  the  basis  of  false  teachings,  which  will 
be  considered  later,  it  sought  to  establish  a  univer- 
sal spiritual  and  temporal  dominion.  In  western 
Europe,  for  a  time,  it  succeeded  in  realizing,  in 
large  measure,  this  supreme  aim  of  the  Bishops 
of  Rome.  But  unlimited,  irresponsible  wealth 
and  power  are  intoxicating.  And  in  the  exercise 
of  its  immense  power  the  Papacy  displayed  so 
much  avarice,  luxury,  and  vice  that  it  frequently 
aroused  censure  and  resistance.  It  failed  to  com- 
mand the  confidence  and  reverence  of  a  large  part 
of  the  people  ;  and  finally,  in  the  great  revolt 
knoAvn  as  the  Reformation,  it  lost  its  sovereignt}" 
over  the  north  of  Europe  and  the  fairest  portion 
of  the  New  World.  Of  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tions, as  well  as  of  individuals,  the  divine  law 
holds  good  that  ' '  the  wages  of  sin  is  death. ' ' 

The  central  point  involved  in  the  reformatory 
conflict  was  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope.  Accord- 
ing to  Roman  Catholic  assumption,  the  Pope  is 
the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth  ;  and  in  virtue  of  this 
exalted  position,  he  is  entitled  to  supreme  authority 
in  Church  and  State.  The  entire  Papal  system  is 
but  a  logical  development  of  this  prime  assump- 
tion. The  Pope  is  made  an  absolute  monarch  ®r 
despot,  from  whom  emanates,  directly  or  in- 
directly, all  authority  and  truth.  He  is  invested 
with  divine  prerogatives,  possessing  the  keys  of 
heaven  and  hell.  In  his  governmental  adminis- 
tration he  surrounds  himself  with  a  graduated 
hierarchy,  which  constitutes  a  special  class  or 
order,  and  mediates  between  the  central  despotism 
and  the  subject  laity.  It  becomes  the  official 
agency  for  the  transmission  of  all  spiritual  bless- 
ings. The  princes  and  officers  of  this  ecclesiasti- 
cal despotism  surround  themselves  with  an  im- 


10  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

jDOsing  ceremonial  and  the  insignia  of  authority. 
To  bind  them  more  closely  to  the  central  power, 
they  are  excluded,  through  the  law  of  celibacy, 
from  the  beauty  and  tenderness  of  family  ties. 
Various  ceremonies  have  been  shrewdly  devised, 
through  which,  in  an  external  way,  the  blessings 
of  salvation  are  officially  communicated.  The 
religious  life  of  the  laity  is  made  to  consist  chiefly 
in  observing  the  external  rites  and  regulations  im- 
posed by  the  hierarchy.  The  Papacy  demands 
absolute  submission  of  intellect,  heart,  and  life  ; 
and  the  rejection  of  this  central,  supreme  author- 
ity is  the  most  flagrant  of  all  heresies. 

Though  the  full  significance  of  their  work  was 
not  at  first  fully  understood,  it  was  in  reality  the 
authority  of  the  Pope  that  was  called  in  question 
by  the  reformers.  Instead  of  accepting  his  official 
utterances  as  final,  which  acceptance  would  have 
speedily  ended  the  Reformation,  they  appealed  to 
the  Scriptures  as  the  ultimate  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  The  Word  of  God  was  placed  above  the 
Pope.  Instead  of  finding  salvation  in  the  perform- 
ance of  external  rites  of  hierarchical  invention, 
they  taught  the  great  truth  of  justification  by 
faith.  Spiritual  obedience  to  God  was  substituted 
for  external  subserviency  to  the  priesthood.  In- 
stead of  a  priestly  order  or  caste  mediating  between 
God  and  man,  they  maintained  that  all  men 
through  faith  become  kings  and  priests  unto  God. 
The  reformers,  rejecting  the  colossal  ecclesiastical 
despotism  that  had  been  built  up  in  imitation  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  returned  to  the  teachings  of 
the  New  Testament,  which  presents  the  Church  of 
Christ  as  a  spiritual  kingdom  of  righteousness  and 
truth.  If  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Papacy 
is  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  the  fundamental 
principle  of  Protestanism  is  the  authority  of  the 


INTRODUCTION.  li 

Word  of  God.  The  Reformation  was  an  evangel- 
ical reaction — a  return  to  the  principles,  and,  in  a 
measure,  to  the  forms  of  primitive  Christianity. 

But  the  reformers  would  not  have  been  able  to 
carry  their  work  through  to  success,  if  they  had 
not  been  favored  by  attending  circumstances. 
These  favoral)le  conditions  have  been  admirably 
summarized  by  jNIacaulay  :  ' '  The  clergy  were  no 
longer  the  sole  or  the  chief  depositaries  of  knowl- 
edge. The  invention  of  printing  had  furnished  the 
assailants  of  the  Church  with  a  mighty  weapon- 
Avhich  had  been  wanting  to  their  predecessors. 
The  study  of  the  ancient  Avriters,  the  rapid  devel- 
opment of  the  powers  of  the  modern  languages, 
the  unprecedented  activity  which  was  displayed  in 
every  department  of  literature,  the  political  state 
of  Europe,  the  vices  of  the  Roman  Court,  the  ex- 
actions of  the  Roman  Chancery,  the  jealousy  with 
which  the  wealth  and  23rivileges  of  the  clergy  were 
naturally  regarded  by  laymen,  the  jealousy  with 
which  the  Italian  ascendency  was  naturally  re- 
garded by  men  born  on  our  side  of  the  Alps,  all 
these  things  gave  to  the  teachers  of  the  new  theol- 
ogy an  advantage  which  they  perfectly  understood 
how  to  use."  * 

This  great  religious  movement,  which  liberated 
the  most  progressive  and  powerful  nations  of  the 
modern  world,  has  sometimes  been  ascribed  to  in- 
significant and  utterly  inadequate  causes.  There 
liave  been  writers  of  high  rank,  like  Hume  and 
Voltaire,  who  have  alleged  the  rivalry  between  the 
Augustinian  and  the  Dominican  friars  as  the  origin 
of  the  Reformation.  ' '  You  are  not  unaware, ' '  sa3'S 
the  Frenchman,  "  that  this  great  revolution  in  the 
human  mind  and  in  the  political  system  of  Europe 
began  with  Martin  Luther,  an  Augustinian  monk, 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  P^ngland,"  I.,  p.  52. 


W 


12  THE  kp:formation  dawn. 

Avhom  his  superiors  deputed  to  preach  against  the 
traffic  in  indulgences,  which  had  been  refused  them. 
The  quarrel  was  at  first  between  the  Augustinians 
and  the  Dominicans."  *  Great  social  and  relig- 
ious revolutions  do  not  spring  from  trifling  causes. 
Tetzel's  blasphemous  auction  of  indulgences  was 
not  the  cause  of  the  Keformation  ;  it  was  merely 
the  occasion  of  its  beginning — the  accidental  spark 
that  fired  the  mine  which  had  been  preparing  for 
a  century. 

To  the  Roman  Catholic,  who  recognizes  the 
Papacy  as  a  divine  institution,  and  regards  the 
Pope,  in  his  official  utterances,  as  infallible,  the 
Reformation  is  not  intelligible.  He  cannot  speak 
of  it  without  prejudice  and  injustice.  It  appeai-s 
to  him  as  an  indefensible  revolt  and  schism.  He 
is  trained  up  to  detest  Protestants  as  heretics.  The 
Roman  Catholic  writer,  in  treating  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, exhibits  a  bias  and  subserviency  of  spirit  un- 
w^orthy  of  an  honest  inquirer  after  truth.  He 
starts  out  with  assumptions  and  presuppositions 
that  distort  his  vision  and  invalidate  his  conclu- 
sions. He  is  bound  by  his  Papal  devotion  to  dis- 
credit the  reformatory  movement,  and  to  justify 
the  Roman  Church  in  its  beliefs  and  acts.  He 
misunderstands  and  maligns  the  reformers.  He 
writes  under  the  baleful  shadow  of  ecclesiastical 
authority,  and,  with  servile  spirit,  subjects  his  con- 
clusions to  clerical  revision.  At  the  order  of  the 
Pope,  he  is  ready  to  declare  light  darkness  and 
darkness  light.  All  this  is  exemplified  in  Balmes, 
whose  able  work  on  ' '  European  Civilization, ' ' 
written  in  reply  to  Guizot,  did  much  to  arrest 
Protestant  tendencies  in  Spain.  "  I  am  not 
aware,"  he  says  in  the  closing  paragraph  of  his 
book,  ' '  in  the  multitude  of  questions  which  have 

*  A^'oltaire's  "  Essai  sur  lesTMoeurs,"  chap.  127. 


INTRODUCTION.  IS 

presented  themselves  to  me,  and  which  it  has  heen 
indisi)ensahle  for  me  to  examine,  that  I  have  re- 
solved any  in  a  manner  not  in  conformity  with  the 
dogmas  of  the  religion  which  I  was  desirous  of  de- 
fending. Before  publishing  my  work,  I  submitted 
it  to  the  examination  of  ecclesiastical  authority  ; 
and,  w^ithout  hesitation,  I  complied  with  the  slight- 
est hint,  on  its  part,  purifying,  correcting,  and 
modifying  what  had  l)een  pointed  out  as  worthy 
of  purification,  correction,  or  modification.  Not- 
withstanding that,  I  submit  my  whole  work  to  the 
judgment  of  the  Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman 
Church  ;  as  soon  as  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  the  Vicar 
of  Jesus  Christ  upon  earth,  shall  pronounce  sen- 
tence against  any  one  of  my  opinions,  I  will  hasten 
to  declare  that  I  consider  that  opinion  erroneous, 
and  cease  to  profess  it." 

The  treatment  of  the  Reformation  by  Roman 
Catholic  writers  is  an  interesting  and  instructive 
study.  It  illustrates  the  dwarfing  and  blinding 
influence  of  the  Papal  despotism.  Fair-minded 
Protestant  historians  are  charged  with  partisan 
prejudice  ;  the  teachings  of  the  reformers  are  mis- 
represented and  their  characters  traduced  ;  the 
corrupt  condition  of  the  Church  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century  is  minified  or  denied  en- 
tirely ;  and  outrageous  cruelties  and  persecutions 
— even  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition  and  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  eve — are  excused 
or  explained  away.  Thus,  in  a  book  published 
under  Episcopal  authority,  it  is  said  that  Luther 
' '  rejected  many  articles  of  faith  which  the  Church 
had  received  from  Christ  and  His  apostles;  "*  that 
1  icing  "of  a  quarrelsome,  imperious  disposition, 
and  full  of  i)resumption,  he  was  much  incensed  at 
the  indulgences  granted  by  Leo  X. ,  because  their 

*  Deharbe's  "  Full  Catechism,"  p.  42. 


14  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

publication  was  intrusted  to  the  Dominicans,  and 
not  to  his  order  ; "  *  that  ' '  he  was  proud,  im- 
moral, impatient,  and  wholly  shameless  ;  "  f  and 
that  ' '  the  '  Reformation '  was  engendered  in 
l^eastly  lust,  brought  forth  in  h^^pocrisy  and  per- 
fidy, and  cherished  and  fed  by  plunder. ' '  I  Even 
Alzog,  one  of  the  ablest  and  fairest  of  Roman 
Catholic  historians,  uses  every  opportunity  to  dis- 
€redit  the  Reformation,  and  says  that  "Luther's 
religious  system  was  a  'pantheistical  mysticism — not 
indeed  the  outcome  of  his  controversy  on  indul- 
gences, but  the  result  of  his  youthful  stuhhornness 
and  perversity,  and  of  his  subsequent  tcayward 
and  erratic  religious  exercises. ' '  § 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  skeptical  writers  to  de- 
preciate the  Reformation.  They  seek  to  minimize 
the  influence  of  the  great  religious  movement  by 
magnifying  its  attendant  and  favoring  circum- 
i^tances.  A  recent  German  writer  declares  that 
' '  the  Reformation  is  over-estimated  ;  for,  besides 
being  an  effect  itself,  it  left  Christianity  unchanged, 
and  made  only  unessential  modifications  in  Cath- 
olicism ;  it  set  up  in  Protestantism  the  Bible  as 
authority,  which  stands  in  contradiction  with  the 
results  of  modern  science."  ||  Apart  from  its 
misapprehension  of  the  facts,  this  statement  shows 
only  a  superficial  insight  into  the  nature  of  the 
Reformation.  In  addition  to  momentous  changes 
in  doctrine,  that  movement  placed  man  in  direct 
l^ersonal  relations  with  his  Maker,  impressed  a 
moral  significance  upon  his  daily  duties,  and,  in 
matters  of  faith,  freed  him  from  ecclesiastical  and 
civil  tyranny.     With  true  insight,  Michelet  char- 

*  Noetlien's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  p.  414. 
t  Spalding's  "  History  of  the  Prot.  Ref.,"  p.  100. 
X  Cobbett's  "Protestant  Reformation,"  p.  26. 


g  Alzog's  "Universal  Church  History,"  III.,  p.  27 
II  Kolb's  "  Culturgesehichte  der  Menscheit,"  II.,  i 


p.  293. 


INTRODUCTION-.  15 

acterizes  Luther  as  ' '  the  restorer  of  hberty. "  ' '  If 
he  did  not  create,"  the  Frenchman  continues, 
''he  at  least  courageously  affixed  his  signature  to 
that  great  revolution  which  rendered  the  right  of 
examination  lawful  in  Europe.  And  if  we  exer- 
cise in  all  its  plenitude  at  this  day  this  first  and 
highest  privilege  of  human  intelligence,  it  is  to 
liim  Ave  are  most  indebted  for  it ;  nor  can  we 
think,  speak,  or  write  without  being  made  con- 
scious at  every  step  of  the  immense  benefit  of  this 
intellectual  enfranchisement.  To  whom  do  I  owe 
the  power  of  publishing  what  I  am  even  now 
inditing,  except  to  the  liberator  of  modern 
thought?"^ 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  present  a 
study  of  the  Reformation  in  its  causes,  circum- 
stances, and  beginning.  A  glance  at  the  table  of 
contents  will  reveal  the  i)lan  and  divisions  of  the 
investigation.  In  Part  First,  the  Papal  system, 
out  of  which  naturally  and  inevitably  grew  the 
evils  leading  to  the  Reformation,  is  presented  on 
the  basis  of  recognized  authorities  and  official 
documents.  In  Part  Second,  the  various  ineffect- 
ual eftorts  at  reform  during  the  later  JNIiddle  Ages 
are  grouped  and  studied.  This  will  reveal  to  us 
more  clearly  the  character  and  methods  of  the 
Papacy.  In  Part  Third,  the  circumstances  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  Reformation,  and  the  be- 
ginning of  that  great  movement  up  to  the  point 
where  tlie  issue  was  fully  joined,  are  given  with 
some  fullness  of  detail.  The  period  covered  is 
chiefly  the  fifteenth  and  the  opening  decades  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  Most  prominence  is  given 
to  the  Reformation  in  Germany,  for  both  in  point 
of  time  and  extent  of  influence  that  country  was 
the  principal  storm-centre.     But  the  general  char- 

*  Michelet's  "  Life  of  Lather,"  p.  xii. 


16  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

acter  of  the  movement  is  not  forgotten,  and  tlie 
dawn  of  reform  in  Switzerland,  England,  Scandi- 
navia, and  elsewhere  is  briefly  discussed.  In  the 
Conclusion  there  is  a  brief  survey  of  the  causes- 
which  checked  the  progress  of  the  Reformation. 


PART  FIRST. 


THE  PAPAL  SYSTEM,  OUT  OF  WHICH  NATUR- 
ALLY AND  INEVITABLY  GREW  THE  EVILS 
LEADING  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


CHAPTER    L 

GROWTH    AND    ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    PAPACY. 

In  tracing  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  Papacy, 
it  is  important  to  distinguish  three  things.  The 
first  is  Christianity,  Avhich  as  a  form  of  rehgion 
Inings  the  individual  into  a  relation  of  love  and 
cheerful  ol^edience  to  God.  Its  source  and  power 
i\Ye  found  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  second  is 
the  development  of  theological  doctrines  in  sys- 
tematic form.  This  development  is  a  result  of  the 
scientific  instinct  of  man.  The  third  is  the  ex- 
ternal organization  of  the  Church,  which  depends 
largely  on  surrounding  conditions.  The  religious 
life  is,  in  a  measure,  independent  of  s.ystematic 
theology  and  of  ecclesiastical  organization  ;  and 
thus  it  happens  that  in  every  part  of  the  visible 
Church,  and  even  under  the  Papacy  in  its  most 
degenerate  days,  we  find  examples  of  saintly,  con- 
secrated men.  The  true,  invisible  Church,  in 
which  vital  and  spiritual  Christianity  finds  its 
abiding-place,  is  to  be  distinguished  from  dog- 
matic systems  and  particular  forms  of  Church 
ritual  and  government. 

2  (17) 


18  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

The  Papacy — the  oldest  and  most  powerful  of 
existing  organizations — rests  on  a  doubtful  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture  and  on  a  doubtful  fact  of 
history.  It  assumes  that  our  Saviour's  words, 
"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  church,"  bestowed  upon  that  apostle  an  offi- 
cial pre-eminence  over  the  other  disciples,  and 
made  him,  together  with  his  successors,  the  visible 
head  of  the  Church.  It  accepts  as  an  established 
fact  that  Peter  founded  the  See  of  Rome,  from 
which  he  exercised  control  over  the  Christian 
communities  of  Europe  and  Asia.  This  interpreta- 
tion and  this  statement  of  facts  are  both  alike 
disproved  by  the  New  Testament ;  for  it  shows 
that  Peter  never  claimed  or  exercised  a  Papal 
primacy  over  the  other  apostles,  and  it  makes 
no  mention  of  his  presence  in  Rome.  Further- 
more (and  this  fact  ought  to  be  conclusive),  the 
hierarchical  idea  did  not  exist  at  all  in  the 
Apostolic  Church.  "One  is  your  master,  even 
Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren  ' '  * — this  is  the 
fundamental  jirinciple  laid  down  by  the  Lord 
Himself. 

The  Papacy  is  a  gradual  growth,  the  process  of 
which  can  be  clearly  traced.  It  required  nearly 
a  thousand  years  to  reach  maturity.  The  primi- 
tive Church  was  an  exalted  democracy,  in  Avhich 
all  true  believers,  to  use  the  language  of  Peter, 
became  "a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood, 
a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people."  f  The  sacer- 
dotal idea  of  the  ministry  is  utterly  foreign  to  the 
Apostolic  Church.  The  presbyters  or  bishops — 
different  names  for  the  same  office — were  chosen 
by  the  local  congregations.  But  as  the  Church 
grew  in  extent  and  power,  it  was  found  expedient, 
for  the  sake  of  better  administration,  to  have,  in 

*  Matt,  xxiii.  8,  1 1  Peter  ii.  9. 


GROWTH  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PAPACY.  19 

imitation  of  the  civil  government,  different  grades 
of  officers.  The  bishop  was  raised  above  the 
presbyter.  Jewish  ideas  of  the  priesthood  crept 
in  ;  and  hence,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  third 
century,  Cyprian  maintained  that  the  ]:)ishops  are 
the  successors  of  the  apostles,  possess  the  same 
divine  authority,  and  are  amenable  to  none  but 
God. 

Under  the  emperor  Constantine,  Avhen  Christi- 
anity became  the  State  religion,  the  Church  as- 
sumed the  character  of  an  inmiense  visible  organ- 
ization. At  the  head  stood  the  emperor  himself 
as  "  bishop  in  externals."  Next  under  him  were 
the  patriarchs  of  Rome,  Antioch,  Alexandria, 
and  Constantinople  ;  then  came  the  exarchs,  who 
presided  over  several  provinces  ;  the  metropoli- 
tans, who  governed  each  a  single  district;  archbish- 
ops, who  watched  over  a  more  limited  territory  ; 
and,  lastly,  ordinary  bishops,  whose  jurisdiction 
had  variable  limits.  These  various  dignitaries  na- 
turally affected  a  style  of  living  in  keeping  with 
their  station.  They  lived  in  palaces,  dressed  in 
magnificent  attire,  and  surrounded  themselves 
with  the  insignia  of  power. 

The  hierarchical  tendencies,  which  had  been 
insidiously  at  work  during  the  two  preceding  cen- 
turies, became  firmly  established.  The  bishops 
became  a  mediating  priesthood,  dispensing  life 
and  death,  and  exercising  authority  as  the  vicars 
of  Christ.  Thus  in  the  so-called  '  'Apostolic  Con- 
stitutions ' '  — a  work  dating  from  about  this  time— 
we  read  such  passages  as  the  following  :  ' '  The 
])ishop  is  the  minister  of  the  Word,  the  keeper  of 
knowledge,  the  mediator  between  God  and  you  in 
the  several  parts  of  your  divine  worship.  He  is 
the  teacher  of  piety  ;  and  next  after  God,  he  is 
your  father,  who  has  begotten  you  again  to  the 


20  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

adoption  of  sons  by  water  and  the  Spirit.  He  is 
your  ruler  and  governor  ;  he  is  your  king  and  po- 
tentate ;  he  is,  next  after  God,  your  earthly  god, 
who  has  a  right  to  be  honored  by  j^ou. ' '  * 

As  a  result  of  the  new  organization  and  condi- 
tion of  the  Church,  public  worship  underwent  a 
change.  Magnificent  basilicas,  in  rivalry  with  the 
splendor  of  heathen  temples,  were  erected.  An 
elaborate  ritual  was  sul^stituted  for  the  worship  in 
spirit  and  in  truth  commended  by  our  Saviour. 
Ceremonies  were  borrowed  from  heathen  worship 
in  order  to  attract  people  to  Christianity.  ' '  There 
Avas  little  difference,"  says  Mosheim,  "in  these 
times  between  the  pubhc  worship  of  the  Chris- 
tians and  that  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  In 
both  alike  there  were  splendid  robes,  mitres,  tia- 
ras, wax  tapers,  crosiers,  processions,  lustrations, 
images,  gold  and  silver  vases,  and  numberless 
other  things."  f 

This  externalizing,  sacerdotal,  monarchical  ten- 
dency a  little  later  reached  its  complete  develo])- 
ment  in  Rome.  By  virtue  of  its  wealth  and 
prestige  in  the  political  centre  of  the  world,  the  See 
of  Rome  claimed  a  primacy  over  all  other  bishop- 
rics. ' '  It  was  in  the  atmosphere  of  Rome, ' '  says 
Adams,  in-  his  interesting  work  on  the  Middle 
Ages,  ' '  where  every  influence  was  of  empire  and 
all  the  traditions  imperial,  that  the  idea  first  took 
shape  that  the  one  great  Church  should  find  its 
head,  its  divinely  ordained  primate,  in  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  ;  vaguely  at  first,  no  doubt,  and  with 
slowly  growing  consciousness,  Init  definitely  enough 
to  form  a  consistent  working  model,  through  all  the 
varying  circumstances  of  their  different  reigns. ' '  J 

*  Apostolic  Constitutions,  Book  II.,  chap.  26. 

t  Mosheim's  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  I.,  p.  276. 

X  Adams'  "  Civilization  During  the  Middle  Ages,"  p.  118. 


GRO^VTII  AND  OKGAMZATION  OF  THE  PAPACY.    21 

By  means  of  far-siglited  diplomacy  and  ceaseless 
aggression,  the  Bishops  of  Rome,  in  spite  of  earn- 
est and  prolonged  resistance,  at  last  succeeded  in 
making  good  their  pretensions  in  western  Europe. 
In  the  fifth  century  Leo  the  Great  declared  that 
"the  care  of  all  the  churches  belonged  to  himself, 
as  the  successor  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  to  whom,  as 
the  reward  of  his  faith,  the  Lord  had  assigned  the 
})rimacy  among  the  aj^ostles,  and  upon  whom  he 
had  founded  His  Church."  *  This  claim  to  pre- 
eminence, based  on  succession  to  Peter,  was  a 
happy  after- thought.  It  was  never  recognized  by 
the  Eastern  or  Greek  Church,  and  several  centuries 
later,  along  with  a  few  doctrinal  differences,  it  led 
to  a  permanent  separation. 

The  Pope  of  Rome  had  now  succeeded  in  plac- 
ing himself  at  the  head  of  the  W^estern  Church. 
Only  one  more  step  remained.  For  several  cen- 
turies the  Pope  remained  subordinate  to  the  civil 
])Ower.  Charlemagne,  while  seeking  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  Church  in  every  way,  still  re- 
garded himself  as  sovereign  over  the  occupant  of 
the  See  of  Rome.  He  exercised  the  right  of  inves- 
titure, placing  in  the  hands  of  the  bishops  the 
insignia  of  their  office — the  staft'  and  ring — and 
receiving  from  them  an  oath  of  fealty.  A  conflict 
for  the  absolute  supremacy  of  the  Papacy  followed 
with  varying  fortunes.  A  theocracy,  at  the  head 
of  which  stood  the  Pope  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ, 
now  became  the  Papal  ideal.  It  was  supported 
])y  the  forged  ' '  Decretals  of  Isidore, ' '  prepared  in 
the  ninth  century,  and  l)y  the  still  bolder  fiction 
that  Constantine  had  donated  to  the  See  of  St. 
Peter  all  the  provinces  which  composed  the  occi- 
dental part  of  the  Ronian  Empire. 

The  conflict  Avas  a  long  one  ;  but  through  the 

*  Guericke's  "  Church  History,"  p.  276. 


22  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

factions  of  the  empire,  the  Papacy  finally  tri- 
umphed under  the  reign  of  Gregor}^  VII.  For 
three  days  Henry  IV.,  in  the  garb  of  a  penitent, 
stood  barefoot  in  front  of  the  Castle  of  Canossa, 
before  the  proud  Gregory  deigned  to  give  him 
audience  and  to  release  him  from  the  ban  of  ex- 
conmiunication.  The  Paj^acy  was  at  length  ex- 
alted above  the  empire  in  absolute  supremacy. 
"The  world,"  said  Gregory  VII.,  in  explaining 
the  relation  of  the  Papac}^  to  the  secular  author- 
ity, ' '  is  governed  by  two  lights — by  the  sun  which 
is  greater,  and  by  the  moon  which  is  less.  The 
Apostolic  power  is  the  sun  ;  the  royal  power  is  the 
moon.  For,  as  the  latter  has  its  light  from  the 
former,  so  do  emperors,  kings,  and  princes  receive 
power  through  the  Pope,  who  receives  it  from  God. 
Thus  the  power  of  the  Roman  Chair  is  greater  than 
the  power  of  the  throne,  and  the  king  is  subordi- 
nate to  the  Pope,  and  is  bound  to  obey  him." 
This  has  since  remained  the  attitude  of  the 
Papacy. 

No  great  civil  or  ecclesiastical  institution  can  be 
built  up  unless  it  meets  some  want  of  the  age. 
Though  ultimately  resting,  as  we  have  seen,  on 
exegetical  and  historical  error,  and  supported  in  its 
development  by  acknowledged  fiction  and  forgery, 
the  Papacy  performed  an  important  office  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  Middle  Ages.  During  the  period 
of  the  Teutonic  migrations  and  the  dissolution  of 
the  old  empire,  it  supplied  an  element  of  stability 
in  the  midst  of  confusion.  It  became  the  connect- 
ing link  between  ancient  and  mediaeval  Europe. 
It  became  the  agency  through  which  Christianity 
and  something  of  the  culture  of  the  ancient  world 
were  imparted  to  the  Germanic  peoples,  which 
were  afterward  to  be  the  standard-bearers  of  human 
progress.    Without  this  monarchical  organization  of 


GROWTH  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PAPACY.  23 

the  Papacy,  which  gave  it  unity  and  strength,  the 
Church  would  have  suffered  far  greater  loss  during 
the  confusion  of  the  Germanic  migrations. 

Even  the  external  Judaic  character  imposed  upon 
the  Church  hy  the  Papacy  Avas  not  without  its  bene- 
fits in  an  untutored  age.  The  barbarians  that  over- 
ran Europe  were  incapable  of  appreciating  or  under- 
standing a  purely  spiritual  worship.  It  could  not 
appeal  to  their  childish  stage  of  development.  The 
most  effective  method  of  reaching  their  minds  was 
through  a  splendid  spectacular  worship.  Magnifi- 
cent churches,  ecclesiastics  in  brilliant  robes  and 
mitres,  smoking  incense  from  swinging  censors, 
alid  solemn  chants  in  an  unknown  tongue,  the 
display  and  veneration  of  saintly  relics — all  this 
Avas  of  a  character  to  impress  and  subdue  their 
astonished  senses.  Besides,  the  easy  terms  of  sal- 
vation through  the  official  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  through  the  founding  and  embellish- 
ing of  churches,  through  pilgrimages  to  holy 
places,  and  through  other  outward  exercises,  facili- 
tated the  spread  of  Christianity  among  the  uncul- 
tivated nations  of  Europe  during  the  earlier  Middle 
Ages. 

The  Papal  system  reached  its  summit  of  power 
at  the  Ijeginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The 
Pope,  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  declared  himself  the 
source  of  all  spiritual  and  temporal  power.  He 
reigned  supreme  as  the  head  of  an  absolute  theoc- 
racy. He  held  himself  above  all  human  laws,  and 
claimed  the  right  of  dispensing  with  them  in  the 
case  of  others.  The  army  of  ecclesiastics  through- 
out western  Europe  were  under  his  unlimited  con- 
trol. He  assumed  to  be  the  arbiter  of  nations,  and 
set  up  and  deposed  kings  at  will.  Thus  he  excom- 
municated John  of  England,  and  laid  his  kingdom 
under  an  interdict.     He  dethroned  Otto  IV.,  of 


24  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Germany,  and  brought  forward  Frederick  II.  in 
his  stead.  As  a  climax  t(^  this  monstrous  assump- 
tion of  power,  he  declared  that  submission  to  him- 
self was  an  indispensa1~)le  condition  of  salvation. 
The  famous  bull  Unam  sanctam,  issued  by  Boniface 
VIII.  in  1302,  concludes  with  this  sentence,  which 
has  since  remained  an  article  of  faith  in  the  Roman 
Church  :  "Indeed,  we  declare,  announce,  and  de- 
fine that  it  is  altogether  necessary  to  salvation  for 
every  human  creature  to  be  subject  to  the  Roman 
Pontiff.  "^-5^ 

The  organization  of  the  Papal  Church,  as  it 
existed  near  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  as 
it  has  since  substantially  continued,  was  magnifi- 
cent in  its  perfection.  At  the  heacl  was  the  Pope 
as  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  Besides  his  diocese  as 
Bishop  of  Rome,  and  in  addition  to  his  temporal 
sovereignty  over  the  States  of  the  Church,  he  pre- 
tended to  absolute  authority  throughout  Chris- 
tendom. He  was  the  source  of  doctrine,  the 
administrator  of  the  temporal  concerns  of  the 
Church,  and  the  practical  sovereign  over  the  na- 
tions. Under  him,  o1)edient  to  his  orders,  he  had 
a  multitude  of  officials,  who  were  bound  to  him, 
not  only  b}^  the  ties  of  a  superstitious  reverence, 
but  also  by  the  bonds  of  comprehensive  and  solemn 
oaths.  The  will  of  the  liead  of  the  Church  was 
promptly  conveyed  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
ecclesiastical  organization . 

The  bishops,  holding  their  authority  from  the 
Pope,  administered  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in 
more  or  less  extended  dioceses.  The  bishop  was 
a  prince  of  the  Church.  His  episcopal  duties 
consisted  in  watching  over  the  parish  priests  and 
monasteries  within  his  jurisdiction,  in  seeing  that 
all  Papal  regulations  were  duly  observed,  and  in 

*  Henderson's  "  Documents  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  p.  437. 


GHOWTH  AND  ORGANIZATIOIs  OF  THE  PAPACT.     20 

furthering  in  every  way  the  interests  of  the  Church. 
In  addition  to  his  ecclesiastical  functions,  he 
usually  had  charge  of  extensive  landed  posses- 
sions, which  imposed  ui)on  him  the  duties  of  civil 
administration,  and  brought  him  into  close  rela- 
tions with  the  central  secular  government.  "As 
far  back  as  Charlemagne's  time,"  says  Emerton, 
' '  we  have  bishops  actually  invested  with  the  func- 
tions of  the  court,  and,  as  the  feudal  system 
developed,  such  cases  became  so  frequent  as  to  be, 
in  many  parts  of  Europe,  almost  the  rule.  The 
l)ishop  became,  by  virtue  of  his  ofhce,  a  vassal  of 
the  seignior  in  whose  territory  his  lands  might  lie, 
and  he  also  became  in  his  turn  a  seignior,  often  on 
a  great  scale,  Avith  vassals  and  sub-vassals,  ruhng 
over  a  very  wide  extent  of  country. ' '  * 

The  local  administration  of  the  Church  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  parochial  clergy,  who  were  divided 
mto  two  classes.  The  first  was  the  secular  clergy, 
who  lived  among  the  people  in  the  discharge  of 
their  pastoral  duties.  The  other  was  the  regular 
clergy,  who,  in  addition  to  their  pastoral  functions, 
were  likewise  under  monastic  vows.  Both  classes 
alike  were  under  the  law  of  celil^acy.  Their  prin- 
cipal duty  was  the  administration  of  the  seven 
sacraments.  In  public  worship  the  celebration  of 
the  mass  occupied  the  central  place,  and  the  reli- 
gious instruction  of  the  people  by  means  of  preach- 
ing was  generally  neglected. 

Between  the  parochial  clerg}^  and  the  bishops 
there  were  other  officers,  as  the  archpresbyter  and 
archdeacon,  as  between  the  bishop  and  the  Pope 
were  the  cardinals,  whose  duty  it  finally  became  to 
elect  the  successive  occupants  of  the  Papal  Chair, 
and  the  archbishops,  who  had  charge  of  an  eccle- 
siastical province  of  several  dioceses.     The  arch- 

*  Emerton' s  "  Mediaeval  Europe,"  p.  547. 


26  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

liishops,  as  the  highest  representatives  of  the 
Papacy  in  the  several  countries,  were  men  of  in- 
fluence and  power ;  and  not  only  during  the 
mediaeval  era,  but  also  at  the  period  of  the  Refor- 
mation, the  archbishops  of  Cologne,  Canterl^ury, 
and  Rheims  played  an  important  part  in  ecclesias- 
tical history. 

The  power  of  the  Papacy,  the  growth  of  which 
has  been  briefly  traced,  was  strengthened  in  vari- 
ous ways.  Like  a  towering  building,  it  was  sup- 
plied with  numerous  buttresses.  The  first  to  be 
mentioned  was  the  Crusades — that  remarkable 
movement  of  western  Europe  to  recover  the  sepul- 
chre of  our  Lord  from  Saracen  desecration.  The 
Popes  placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  move- 
ment, and  assumed  and  exercised  an  unlimited 
authority.  It  was  Urban  II.  who  sent  the  enthus- 
iast Peter  the  Plermit  to  rouse  Italy  and  France. 
At  the  close  of  this  Pope's  memorable  address 
at  Clermont  in  1095,  the  vast  assembly,  swept 
away  by  enthusiasm,  echoed  his  words,  "It  is 
the  will  of  God."  Princes  were  exhorted  and 
commanded  to  engage  in  the  holy  enterprise. 
Knighthood  received  the  sanction  of  the  Church. 
The  forgiveness  of  sin  was  promised  to  all  who 
went  on  the  crusade,  and  to  all  who  perished, 
everlasting  life.  In  the  absence  of  the  Crusaders, 
the  Pope  undertook  to  watch  over  their  interests 
at  home.  In  the  summons  of  Eugene  III.  to  the 
crusade  in  1145  he  says:  "We  do  deci^ee  that 
their  wives  and  sons,  their  goods  also  and  possess- 
ions, shall  remain  under  the  protection  of  ourselves 
and  of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  other  pre- 
lates of  the  Church  of  God."  ^  The  natural  effect 
of  all  this  was  to  confirm  the  Popes  in  their  as- 
sumed headship  of  western  Christendom. 

*  Henderson's  "  Historical  Documents  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  p.  333. 


GROWTH  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PAPACY.  27 

Monasticisin,  which  developed  along  with  the 
Papacy,  became  another  source  of  aggressive  and 
defensive  power.  It  grcAv  out  of  the  ascetic 
spirit,  which  early  manifested  itself  in  the  Church, 
and  sought  a  higher  degree  of  piety  in  retirement, 
meditation,  and  self-denial.  The  monastic  ten- 
dency was  encouraged  by  the  dissolution  of  an- 
cient society.  In  the  midst  of  social  chaos, 
lirought  al)out  by  the  barbarian  invasions,  men 
found  it  congenial  to  retire  from  ceaseless  turmoils 
and  conflicts  to  live  in  the  solitude  of  deserts  or 
monasteries.  Hermits  or  anchorites,  of  whom  St. 
Anthony  may  be  taken  as  the  type,  most  abounded 
in  the  East ;  but  in  the  West  the  monastic  system, 
with  its  more  practical  aims,  generally  prevailed. 
^Monasteries  were  founded  in  Italy,  Spain,  Ger- 
many, France,  England,  and  Ireland;  and,  in  their 
best  days,  they  were  centres  of  industry,  piety,  and 
learning.  The  monastery  of  St.  Benedict,  founded 
on  the  heights  of  the  Apennines  in  the  sixth 
century,  became  an  incentive  to  monastic  life  in 
the  Western  Church,  and  furnished  the  model  of 
organization  and  discipline. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  mon- 
astic spirit  manifested  itself  with  renewed  vigor. 
In  the  twelfth  century  Bernard,  of  Clairvaux,  a 
man  of  deep  piety  and  moving  eloquence, 
founded  the  order  of  Cistercians,  who  were  bound 
by  a  rigorous  discipline.  Of  the  many  orders 
both  for  men  and  w^omen  founded  during  this  pe- 
riod, there  are  two  that  deserve  particular  mention 
l^ecause  of  their  wide  influence.  The  order  of 
Dominicans,  Avhich  was  established  at  the  l:)egin- 
ning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  aimed  at  dissemi- 
nating the  doctrines  and  extending  the  authority 
of  the  Church.  While  bound  by  the  monastic 
vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience,  they  did 


28  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

not  live  in  ascetic  seclusion,  but  moved  among 
the  people  as  teachers  and  j^reachers.  They  were 
the  defenders  of  orthodoxy,  and  found  their  way 
into  the  universities.  Thomas  Aquinas  was  their 
ablest  theologian.  The  order  of  Franciscans, 
founded  about  the  same  time,  was  a  similar  organ- 
ization. It  gave  itself  particularly  to  missionary 
work,  preaching  the  Gospel  even  before  the  Sultan. 
Their  principal  theologian  Avas  Duns  Scotus.  Both 
organizations,  known  as  the  mendicant  orders, 
rapidly  extended  throughout  the  Western  Church, 
and  lent  a  strong  support  to  the  Papacy.  In  less 
than  half  a  century  after  their  organization,  the 
Franciscans  had  no  fewer  than  8000  monasteries 
and  200,000  members. 

The  Papacy  was  likewise  strengthened  by  the 
adoption  and  enforcement  of  the  law  of  celibacy. 
A  celibate  condition  was  held  to  be  holier  than  a 
married  state.  In  accordance  with  this  view, 
which  seemed  not  entirely  without  Scripture  sanc- 
tion, the  Papacy  required  celibacy  in  its  priest- 
hood. It  was  rejected  in  the  Eastern  Church,  and 
met  with  much  resistance  in  the  West.  Councils, 
emperors,  and  Popes  legislated  in  the  matter  ; 
but  it  was  left  to  Gregory  VII.,  in  the  eleventh 
century,  to  enforce  celibacy  with  extreme  rigor. 
In  1074  he  issued  a  decretal  ' '  that  every  layman 
who  would  receive  the  communion  from  the  hands 
of  a  married  priest  should  be  excommunicated, 
and  that  every  priest  who  married  or  lived  in  con- 
cu])inage  should  be  deposed."  By  this  law  of 
celibacy,  the  Papacy  more  closely  attached  to  its 
interests  the  vast  body  of  its  clergy,  and  added  an 
element  of  popularity  and  efficiency  to  their 
work. 

Another  source  of  immeasurable  power  lay  in 
education,  which  the  Papacy  claimed  as  one  of  its 


GROWTH  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PAPACY.  29 

exclusive  functions.  For  centuries  ecclesiastics 
were  the  chief  representatives  of  learning.  They 
became  the  lawyers,  ambassadors,  and  prime  min- 
isters of  kings.  In  connection  with  the  monas- 
teries and  cathedrals,  schools  were  frequently  es- 
tablished to  train  candidates  for  the  priesthood. 
Latin,  the  language  of  the  Church,  was  made  the 
basis  of  instruction  to  the  general  neglect  of  the 
mother-tongue.  The  seven  liberal  arts — the  trivium 
and  the  quadrivium — were  pursued  chiefly  in  the 
interests  of  the  Church.  The  parochial  schools, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  local  priesthood, 
were  designed  to  acquaint  the  young,  not  with  the 
elements  of  learning,  but  with  the  first  principles 
of  Christian  doctrine,  to  prepare  them  for  intelli- 
gent participation  in  public  worship,  and  especi- 
ally to  introduce  them  into  Church  membership. 
In  schools  of  every  class  the  principle  of  author- 
ity prevailed,  and,  in  place  of  independent  thought 
and  investigation,  the  learners  were  forced  to  ac- 
cept the  instruction  of  their  teachers.  Through 
its  ecclesiastical  schools,  the  Papacy  in  large  meas- 
ure controlled  the  opinions  and  beliefs  of  the  peo- 
ple for  centuries. 

Another  powerful  agency  of  the  Papacy  was  the 
Inquisition,  which  had  as  its  object  the  discovery, 
repression,  and  punishment  of  heresy.  After  the 
complete  development  of  the  Papacy,  the  princi- 
ple of  authority  reigned  supreme  in  the  Western 
Church.  The  individual  was  required  to  accept 
the  teachings  of  the  Church  without  question. 
Inasmuch  as  heresy,  which  is  a  departure  from 
the  accepted  faith,  was  a  virtual  repudiation  of 
Papal  supremacy,  it  was  regarded  as  a  serious  of- 
fense. For  its  more  effective  repression  and 
punishment,  the  Inquisition  was  established  by 
Gregory  IX.  in  1232,  and  its  general  management 


30  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

committed  to  the  Dominicans.  ^  ^  Let  loose  against 
the  heretics  as  ^Domini  canes  ^  (a  designation  which 
they  coveted  as  an  honor),  the  inquisitors  pos- 
sessed unhmited  power.  Any  party  suspected  or 
denounced  could  be  imprisoned  and  tried  without 
being  confronted  either  with  accuser  or  witnesses, 
and  torture  was  freely  employed  to  extort  confes- 
gion.  Those  who  recanted  were  generally  con- 
demned to  imprisonment  for  life ;  those  who 
proved  obstinate  were  handed  to  the  secular  tri- 
bunal to  be  consumed  at  the  stake. ' ' 

The  general  administration  of  the  Papacy  is 
regulated  by  Canon  or  Church  Law,  composed 
of  the  opinions  of  the  ancient  Latin  fathers,  the 
decrees  of  councils,  and  the  decretals  or  bulls  of 
the  Popes.  First  codified  l)y  Gratian  near  the  mid- 
dle of  the  twelfth  century — a  time  of  Papal  ascen- 
dency— the  Canon  Law  seeks  to  establish  the 
doctrine  of  the  Roman  primacy  in  both  spiritual 
and  temporal  matters.  Lender  this  law  ecclesiastical 
courts  claimed  a  very  wide  jurisdiction.  It  took 
cognizance,  first,  of  all  cases  in  which  the  clergy 
was  involved,  and,  secondly,  of  all  questions  in 
which  a  religious  element  could  be  found.  LTncler 
this  latter  principle,  there  was  scarcely  any  cause — 
marriage,  testaments,  charities,  tithes — that  could 
not  be  brought  before  the  courts  of  the  Church. 
With  the  ultramontane  conception  of  the  Papacy 
favored  by  the  Canon  Law,  nearly  every  interest  of 
life  was  brought  under  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction. 

It  is  a  fundamental  princii^le  of  the  Canon  Law 
that  the  Church  is  a  sovereign  state.  Consequently 
it  is  independent  of  secular  authority,  and  has  the 
right  to  inflict  penalties,  both  spiritual  and  cor- 
poral, for  the  violation  of  its  laws.  As  a  general 
thing,  the  penalties  inflicted  were  of  the  class  called 
spiritual,  which  consisted  in  the  limitation  or  de- 


GROWTH  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PAPACY.  81 

privation  of  religious  privileges.  The  extreme 
penalty  for  individuals  was  excommunication  and 
death,  and  for  nations  the  interdict  and  crusade. 
In  carrying  out  its  extreme  penalties,  the  Church 
frequently  invoked  the  aid  of  the  civil  power,  over 
which  it  claimed  a  directive  authority.  The  State 
often  supported  the  excommunication  and  ban  of 
the  Church  by  a  sentence  of  outlaAvry  or  by  execu- 
tion at  the  stake.  The  interdict  consisted  in  the 
suspension  of  pubHc  worship,  the  withholding  of 
the  sacraments,  and  the  denial  of  ecclesiastical 
burial.  In  a  superstitious  age,  the  interdict  was  a 
powerful  means  of  coercion.  The  crusade  was  a 
war  of  extermination,  such  as  was  waged  against 
the  Albigenses.  The  attitude  of  the  Papacy  is 
exhil)ited  in  a  decree  of  the  third  Lateran  Council 
in  1179:  "Though  the  Church  does  not  thirst 
after  blood,  yet  it  is  often  salutary  for  the  souls  of 
men  when  they  fear  physical  punishment.  Since 
the  heretics  no  longer  keep  silent  and  hidden,  but 
boldly  proclaim  their  errors,  and  lead  the  weak 
and  simple-minded  astray,  let  the  ban  be  pro- 
nounced against  them  and  their  protectors.  Let 
no  one  any  longer  associate  or  have  business  rela- 
tions Avith  them,  but,  on  the  contrary,  let  an  indul- 
gence for  two  years  be  extended  to  those  who  make 
war  upon  them. ' '  * 

In  the  foregoing  study  of  the  origin,  growth, 
and  organization  of  the  Papacy,  we  must  recognize 
a  masterpiece  of  human  genius  and  sublime  ambi- 
tion. The  hierarchy  early  supplanted  the  democ- 
racy of  the  Apostolic  Church.  An  imposing 
splendor,  in  l^eeping  with  the  State  religion  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  was  introduced.  The  Bishop  of 
Rome,  by  virtue  of  his  residence  in  the  capital 
city  of  the  ancient  world,  aspired  to  pre-eminence 

*  Alzog's  "Universal  Kirchengeschichte,"  II.,  p.  2n. 


32  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

over  all  other  ecclesiastics.  He  supported  his 
claims  by  a  pretended  occupancy  of  the  See  of 
Peter,  to  whom,  it  was  affirmed,  the  Lord  had 
given  a  position  of  primacy  in  the  Church.  He 
laid  claim  to  temporal  sovereignty  and  pre-emi- 
nence, supporting  his  pretensions  by  forged  decre- 
tals and  imaginary  imperial  donations.  At  last — 
and  human  ambition  could  not  possibly  go  further 
— he  made  himself  the  source  of  all  authority  and 
religious  truth,  and,  as  Vicar  of  Christ,  assumed 
to  be  lord  of  all  the  earth. 

In  organization  the  Papacy  showed  the  master- 
ful practical  sagacity  of  the  ancient  Roman  Em- 
pire. Every  part  of  Europe  was  covered  by 
ecclesiastical  princes  and  officials.  No  resource 
was  left  unemployed  to  increase  its  power.  It 
placed  itself  at  the  head  of  the  crusade  movement. 
It  surrounded  itself  with  an  army  of  monastics. 
It  attached  its  priesthood  to  its  interests  more 
closely  by  the  law  of  celibacy.  It  made  educa- 
tion one  of  its  exclusive  functions,  and  thus  kept 
the  training  of  the  young  in  its  hands.  It  organ- 
ized the  Inquisition  for  the  detection  and  punish- 
ment of  those  who  refused  to  submit  to  its  teachings 
or  authority.  It  emancipated  itself  from  secular 
control,  and,  as  a  sovereign  state,  developed  its 
ow^n  system  of  laws,  w^hich  defended  its  most  ex- 
travagant claims  and  extended  its  jurisdiction  to 
the  uttermost.  So  colossal  and  dangerous  a  des- 
potism never  before  existed  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    DOCTRINAL    SYSTEM    OF    THE    PAPACY. 

Like  its  outward  organization,  the  doctrinal 
system  of  the  Papacy  has  been  a  gradual  growth. 
Starting  Avith  the  great  primary  truths  embodied  in 
the  ecumenical  creeds,  which  are  the  common 
heritage  of  Christendom,  it  has  developed  a  dis- 
tinctive body  of  doctrines  which,  as  will  be  shown 
later,  are  associated  with  insidious  and  far-reaching 
errors.  It  w^as  largely  these  errors  that  led,  not 
only  to  the  scandalous  moral  condition  of  the 
Roman  Church  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  but  also  to  the  repudiation  of  the  Papacy 
by  the  reformers.  Luther  regarded  his  principal 
work  a  reformation,  not  of  abuses  but  of  doctrines. 
The  reformatory  movement  can  be  understood  in 
all  its  significance  only  in  the  light  of  the  gross 
errors,  against  which  it  was  a  mighty  protest. 

The  official  title  of  the  Papal  organization,  as 
contained  in  its  professions  of  faith,  is  "  The  Holy 
Catholic  A230stolic  Roman  Church,"  a  title  that 
seems  open  to  several  objections.  There  is  reason, 
as  we  shall  see,  to  question  its  holiness.  It  is  not 
Catholic,  that  is,  universal,  in  either  doctrine  or 
dominion.  The  fundamental  Papal  doctrines  are 
rejected  alike  by  the  Greek  and  the  Protestant 
Churches,  which  numerically  embrace  more  than 
half  of  Christendom.  How  far  in  organization  it 
has  departed  from  Apostolic  institution  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  and  its  further  departure  in 
3  (33) 


34  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

doctrine  will  soon  come  under  examination. 
When  the  imposing  title  which  the  Papacy  has 
assumed  is  subjected  to  scrutiny,  all  that  is  accur- 
ately descriptive  is  the  "  Roman  Church,"  a  title 
that  is  unknown  in  the  ecumenical  creeds. 

Two  opposing  views  of  the  Church — utterly  in- 
consistent with  the  Papal  claim  of  unity — long 
prevailed  in  Roman  Catholicism,  producing  end- 
less discord  and  strife.  The  Galilean  or  episcopal 
view,  represented  by  many  distinguished  prelates 
and  defended  by  the  Councils  of  Constance  and 
Basel,  made  the  episcopacy  the  ultimate  source  of 
ecclesiastical  authority.  The  episcopacy  found 
utterance  in  general  or  ecumenical  councils,  which 
were  regarded  as  superior  to  the  Pope,  and  com- 
petent to  pass  laws  binding  upon  him.  The  Gal- 
ilean view  restricted  the  Pope's  jurisdiction  to 
spiritual  things,  and  forbade  his  interference  with 
secular  government.  It  thus  harmonized  Papal 
supremacy  with  national  independence.  It  is 
called  Galilean,  because  its  exemplification  and  its 
leading  advocates,  as  Gerson  and  Bossuet,  were 
found  in  France. 

The  opposite  of  Gallicanism  is  Ultramontanism. 
The  Ultramontane  view  of  the  Church,  which 
after  the  time  of  Gregory  VII.  was  held  with  great 
firmness  and  consistency  by  the  Bishops  of  Rome, 
makes  the  Pope  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth,  and, 
as  such,  the  source  of  all  spiritual  and  temporal 
power.  The  Church  is  under  his  autocratic  con- 
trol. In  his  official  utterance  he  is  held  incapable 
of  error.  Princes  are  ]30und  to  obey  him  ;  and 
when  he  deems  it  desirable  for  the  interests  of  the 
Church,  he  may  resist  or  depose  them-^a  power 
which  he  frequently  exercised.  All  episcopal  au- 
thority is  derived  from  him.     It  is  his  prerogative 


to  call  councils,  to  watch  over  their  proceedings, 
and  to  give  validity  to  their  decrees.  He  is  the 
universal  teacher  of  the  Church,  the  authoritative 
interpreter  of  Scripture  and  tradition,  and  the 
source  of  all  doctrinal  truth.  Ultramontanisni, 
wliich  is  the  logical  outcome  of  the  Papal  system 
and  which  guided  the  policy  of  the  leading  Popes 
for  centuries,  was  formall}"  established  as  an  irre- 
versible part  of  the  Roman  creed  by  the  decree  of 
Papal  infallibihty  in  1870. 

The  mediaeval  doctrine  of  Papal  supremacy, 
which  forms  the  l)asis  of  the  Roman  Church,  finds 
clear  and  full  expression  in  the  Dogmatic  Decrees 
of  the  Vatican  Council  of  1870.  After  pronounc- 
ing an  anathema  upon  those  who  ' '  should  deny 
that  it  is  l\y  the  institution  of  Christ  the  Lord,  or 
by  divine  right,  that  l^lessed  Peter  should  have  a 
perpetual  line  of  successors  in  the  Primacy  over 
the  universal  Church,  or  that  the  Roman  Pontiff 
is  the  successor  of  blessed  Peter  in  this  primacy, ' ' 
the  Decrees  continue  :  ' '  ^^^herefore,  resting  on 
plain  testimonies  of  the  Sacred  Writings,  and  ad- 
hering to  the  plain  and  express  decrees  both  of 
our  predecessors,  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  and  of  the 
General  Councils,  we  renew  the  definition  of  the 
Ecumenical  Council  of  Florence,*  in  virtue  of 
which  all  the  faithful  of  Christ  must  believe  that 
the  holy  Apostolic  See  and  the  Roman  Pontiff  pos- 
sesses the  primacy  over  the  whole  world,  and  that 
the  Roman  Pontiff  is  the  successor  of  blessed 
Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  is  the  true  Vicar 
of  Christ,  and  head  of  the  whole  Church,  and  fa- 
ther and  teacher  of  all  Christians  ;  and  that  full 
power  was  given  to  him  in  l)lessed  Peter  to  rule, 
feed,  and  govern  the  universal  Church  by  Jesus 

*  This  Council  was  held  in  1438. 


36  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Christ  our  Lord  ;  as  is  also  contained  in  the  acts 
of  the  General  Councils  and  in  the  sacred  Can- 
ons." ^^ 

This  doctrine  of  the  Papacy  is  inevitably  at- 
tended with  two  evils,  both  of  which  are  abund- 
antly exemplified,  as  will  be  shown  later,  in  its 
extended  history.  In  the  first  place,  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter  offers  a  tempting  prize  to  human  amlii- 
tion — the  most  tempting,  indeed,  that  can  be  at- 
tained or  conceived  on  this  globe.  National 
thrones  sink  into  insignificance  in  comparison  with 
the  Papal  throne.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  it 
has  often  become  the  object  of  ambitious,  unscru- 
pulous men,  who  exhausted  every  possible  means 
to  achieve  their  unholy  aims.  Deception,  bribery, 
and  even  murder  are  frequently  met  with  in  the 
history  of  Papal  succession.  But,  furthermore, 
the  occupant  of  the  Papal  Chair  is  tempted  to 
abuse  his  power  for  selfish  and  unholy  ends.  By 
virtue  of  his  position,  he  is  lifted  above  all  ac- 
countability. "All  must  be  judged  by  the  Pope," 
according  to  the  dictum  of  Innocent  III. ,  ' '  but 
he  can  be  judged  by  no  man."  Men  are  apt  to 
become  intoxicated  at  such  divine  altitudes  of 
power  ;  and  it  would  be  a  marvelous  thing  if  we 
did  not  find  worldliness,  nepotism,  and  tyranny 
in  the  history  of  the  Papacy.  Such  an  unlimited 
and  irresijonsil^le  power  as  the  Papacy  is  in  theory 
and  aim  is  itself  a  dangerous  and  intolerable  evil. 

The  Papal  conception  of  the  Church  is  that  of  a 
visible  organization  or  monarchy.  The  Church  is 
defined  as  ' '  the  same  congregation  of  all  the  faith- 
ful, who,  being  baptized,  profess  the  same  doc- 
trine, partake  of  the  same  sacraments,  and  are 
governed  by  their  lawful  pastors  under  one  visil>le 

*  Dogmatic  Decrees  of  the  Vatican  Council,  cliap.  III.,  in  Schaft''s 
"  Creeds  of  Christendom." 


THE    DOCTRINAL    SYSTEM    OF    THE    PAPACY.        37 

Head,  the  Pope."  *  By  the  lirst  clause,  this  defi- 
nition excludes  all  heretics  and  unbelievers  ;  by 
the  second,  all  the  unbaptized  ;  and  by  the  third, 
all  who  reject  the  authority  of  the  priests  and 
Pope.  It  is  further  taught  that  "everyone  is 
obliged,  under  pain  of  eternal  damnation,  to  be- 
come a  member  of  the  [Roman]  Catholic  Church, 
to  believe  her  doctrine,  to  use  her  means  of  grace, 
and  to  su]:)mit  to  her  authority."  f 

This  conception  of  the  Church  as  an  absolute 
monarchy  or  despotism,  into  which  all  Christians 
are  to  be  gathered,  and  which  is  to  exercise  uni- 
versal dominion  under  the  vicegerent  of  Christ, 
must  he  acknowledged  to  possess  the  merit  of  sim- 
plicity and  grandeur.  It  is  easily  understood  ; 
and  it  perpetuates  the  tradition  of  the  ancient 
Roman  Empire  as  a  sovereignty  of  the  world.  In 
so  far  as  it  was  realized  in  the  Middle  Ages  or  is 
realized  at  the  present  day,  it  gives  us  the  oldest 
and  most  widely  extended,  and,  in  many  respects, 
the  most  powerful  monarchy  that  has  ever  existed. 

But  the  despotic  character  of  the  Papacy  is  to  be 
especially  noted.  In  matters  of  faith  and  conduct, 
the  laity  are  bound  to  an  absolute  obedience  to  the 
local  priests.  These,  in  turn,  are  bound  to  the 
l)ishops,  from  whom  they  receive  their  ordination 
and  pastoral  appointment.  And  the  bishops 
themselves,  by  the  most  solemn  oaths,  are  subject 
to  the  Pope,  the  source  of  all  episcopal  authority 
and  the  infallible  head  of  the  system.  Thus,  in 
the  sphere  of  religious  faith  and  practice,  under 
which  nearly  the  whole  life  may  be  included,  the 
laity  are  forj^idden  all  freedom  of  thought  and  lib- 
erty of  action.  They  are  placed,  under  penalty  of 
their  souls'  salvation,  in  the  power  of  the  hierar- 

*  Deharhe's  "  Full  Catechism,"  p.  129. 
t  Deharbe's  "  Full  Caterhism,"  p.  145. 


38  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

chy.  That  this  power  might  be  more  complete,  the 
laity  have  always  been  kept,  as  far  as  possible,  in 
a  state  of  docile  ignorance.  ' '  The  best  ordered 
and  administered  state,"  says  a  Papal  writer  in 
presenting  the  ideal  of  his  Church,  "is  that  in 
which  the  fcAV  are  well  educated  and  lead,  and  the 
many  are  trained  to  obedience,  are  willing  to  be 
directed,  content  to  follow,  and  do  not  aspire  to  be 
leaders."  ^  The  impositions  and  frauds,  to  which 
this  system  of  sacerdotal  tyranny  over  body  and 
soul  inevitably  led,  will  be  pointed  out  in  the  fol- 
lowing chapter. 

In  the  Roman  Church  the  priesthood,  following 
Jewish  ideas,  constitutes  a  sacerdotal  class,  divinely 
set  over  the  laity.  The  ofhce  of  the  priesthood  is 
to  mediate  between  God  and  the  people,  to  offer 
sacrifices  in  their  behalf,  and  to  communicate  to 
them,  through  the  means  of  grace,  the  blessings 
of  salvation.  The  priesthood  is  the  official  agency 
for  conveying  the  salvation  of  God  to  men.  ' '  If 
anyone  saith,"  so  runs  a  Canon  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  ' '  that  there  is  not  in  the  New  Testament  a 
visible  and  external  priesthood  ;  or  that  there  is 
not  any  power  of  consecrating  and  offering  the 
true  body  and  l^lood  of  the  Lord,  and  of  forgiving 
and  retaining  sins,  but  only  an  office  and  1:)are 
ministry  of  preaching  the  Gospel  ;  or  that  those 
who  do  not  preach  are  not  priests  at  all  :  let  him 
be  anathema."  f  The  treasure  of  eternal  life  is 
placed  in  the  keeping  of  the  priests.  They  can 
bmd,  and  no  man  can  loose  ;  they  can  loose,  and 
no  man  can  bind.  It  is  not  possible  to  lay  claim 
to  higher  authority  and  power  ;  and  where  they 
are  recognized,  what  an  instrument  of  oppression 
they  are  capable  of  being  made  ! 

*  Catholic  World,  April,  1871. 

t  Canons   and  Decrees  of  the  Councils  of  Trent,  Canon  1,  on  the 
Sacrament  of  Order. 


THE    DOCTRINAL    SYSTEM    OF    THE    PAPACY.       89 

The  sacramental  system  of  the  Roman  Church 
is  in  keeping  with  its  external  and  visible  charac- 
ter. A  sacrament  is  defined  as  "  A  visible  sign, 
instituted  by  Jesus  Christ,  by  which  invisible 
grace  and  inward  sanctification  are  communicated 
to  our  souls. "  *  It  is  maintained  that  the  sacra- 
ments effect  ex  opere  operato,  that  is,  by  the  per- 
formance of  the  act  itself,  the  grace  or  blessing  for 
which  they  were  instituted.  The  Roman  Church 
enumerates  seven  sacraments — Baptism,  Confirma- 
tion, Eucharist,  Penance,  Extreme  Unction,  Ordi- 
nation, and  IMatrimony — which  are  designed  to 
cover  every  period  of  life.  From  infancy  to  old 
age,  by  means  of  the  different  sacraments,  the  lay- 
man is  kept  in  the  power  of  the  priesthood. 

According  to  Papal  teaching,  baptism  cleanses 
from  all  sin,  and  confers  the  blessing  of  regenera- 
tion and  sanctification.  Without  baptism  no  one 
can  be  saved.  In  confirmation,  through  the  im- 
position of  the  bishop's  hands,  unction,  and 
prayer,  the  baptized  are  strengthened,  by  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  consistent  living.  In  the 
holy  Eucharist,  the  bread  and  wine  are  transub- 
stantiated into  the  true  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
who,  in  the  form  of  the  elements,  becomes  an  ob- 
ject of  adoration.  In  the  communion,  at  which 
onl}^  the  wafer  is  given  to  the  communicant,  it  is 
held  that  Christ  gives  Himself  bodily  for  the  nour- 
ishment of  the  soul. 

The  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is  made  a  propitiation 
for  sin.  It  avails  both  for  the  living  and  th(^ 
dead,  specially  for  those  for  whom  the  priest  offers 
it,  and  for  all  those  who  are  present  with  devotion 
of  heart.  In  the  ' '  Profession  of  the  Tridentine 
Faith, "  it  is  said  that ' '  in  the  mass  there  is  offered 
to  God  a  true,  proper,  and  propitiatory  sacrifice 

*  Deharbe's  "  Full  Catechism,"  p.  245. 


40  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

for  the  living  and  the  dead."  The  sacritice  of  the 
mass  may  be  apphed  to  shorten  or  alleviate  the 
sufferings  of  those  in  j^urgatory.  As  devout  be- 
lievers, at  the  approach  of  death,  and  affectionate 
friends  of  departed  ones  have  been  found  willing 
to  appropriate  money  for  the  celebration  of  masses, 
this  doctrine  has  i)roved  a  veritable  mine  of  wealth 
to  the  Church. 

The  sacrament  of  penance,  which  is  distin- 
guished from  the  virtue  of  penance  or  sorrow  for 
sin,  consists  in  the  priestly  forgiveness  of  sins  upon 
satisfactory  confession.  The  priest  does  not  simply 
declare  the  remission  of  sins,  but  really  and  truly 
remits  them  ' '  in  virtue  of  the  power  given  to  him 
by  Christ."  "  If  anyone  saith,"  so  runs  a  Canon 
of  the  Council  of  Trent,  "that  the  sacramental 
absolution  of  the  priest  is  not  a  judicial  act,  but  a 
bare  ministry  of  pronouncing  and  declaring  sins  to 
be  forgiven  to  him  who  confesses  :  let  him  be 
anathema. ' '  The  confession  required  is  private  or 
auricular,  and  the  penitent  is  required  to  confess 
all  sins,  particularly  those  of  a  grievous  character. 
The  number  and  circumstances  of  their  commis- 
sion must  be  enumerated  to  the  priest  in  order  to 
receive  entire  forgiveness.  The  sacrament  of  pen- 
ance is  regarded  as  necessary  to  salvation,  and 
places  within  the  hands  of  the  i)riest  the  inmost 
secrets  of  the  hearts  and  lives  of  his  flock.  It 
leads  inevitably  to  cruel  and  monstrous  al^uses. 

Of  the  sacraments  of  Ordination  and  Matrimony  it 
is  not  necessary  to  speak.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
around  each  of  these  sacraments  there  grew  up  an 
elaborate  liturgical  ceremonial.  These  forms  were 
borrowed  in  part  from  Jewish  and  in  part  from 
heathen  sources.  In  an  age  of  ignorance  and 
superstition,  the  imposing  ceremonial  of  the  Roman 
Church  had  its  influence  in  attracting  the  heathen 


thp:  doctrinal  system  of  the  papacy.     41 

of  the  Empire  and  in  overawing  the  Teutonic  bar- 
barian. This  purpose,  along  with  the  exaltation 
of  ecclesiastics,  may  be  regarded  as  the  underljdng 
motive  of  liturgical  development.  But,  strange  to 
say,  the  elaborate  liturgy  of  the  Roman  Church  is 
regarded  as  having  divine  authority,  and  is  there- 
fore held  to  be  unchangeable.  Hence  we  re^ad  in 
the  ' '  Canons  and  Decrees  of  the  Council  of 
Trent, "  "If  anyone  saith  that  the  received  and 
approved  rites  of  the  [Roman]  Catholic  Church, 
wont  to  be  used  in  the  solemn  administration  of 
the  sacraments,  may  be  contemned,  or  without  sin 
be  omitted  at  pleasure  by  the  ministers,  or  be 
changed,  by  every  pastor  of  the  churches,  into 
other  new  ones  :  let  him  be  anathema."  * 

The  doctrine  of  good  works  occupies  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  Papal  system.  It  is  made  to  fit 
into  the  external  character  impressed  on  Christi- 
anity. In  Romanism  faith  is  mere  assent  to  the 
dogmas  proposed  by  the  Church.  In  virtue  of 
this  assent,  the  believer  is  willing  to  receive  the 
rite  of  baptism,  by  which,  as  already  shown,  he 
is  regenerated  and  sanctified.  Through  the  grace 
thus  conferred  upon  him,  he  is  able  to  do  works 
that  merit  a  reward  at  the  hands  of  God.  These 
are  known  as  ' '  good  works, ' '  and  consist  generally, 
not  in  deeds  of  righteousness  and  love,  but  in  acts 
prescriljed  by  or  beneficial  to  the  Church.  Keep- 
ing holidays,  observing  fasts,  making  pilgrimages, 
worshii)ing  saints,  using  rosaries,  em])racing 
monkery,  bestowing  benefactions,  particularly 
upon  the  Church,  are  held  to  be  good  works, 
througli  which  the  individual  merits  grace  and 
eternal  life.  This  was  the  accepted  teaching  of 
the  Pa[)al  Church  in  the  thirteenth  century;  and 
the    "Canons    and    Decrees  of    the    Council    of 

*  Seventh  Session.  Canon  XII, 


42  THE    REFOEMATION    DAWN. 

Trent,"  which  simply  reaffirm  the  doctrine  of  the 
mechseval  Church,  declare  :  "If  anyone  saith 
that  the  good  works  of  one  that  is  justified  are  in 
such  manner  the  gifts  of  God,  that  they  are  not 
also  the  good  merits  of  him  that  is  justified  ;  or 
that  the  said  justified,  by  the  good  works  which 
he  performs  through  the  grace  of  God  and  the 
merit  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  living  member  he  is, 
does  not  truly  merit  increase  of  grace,  eternal  life, 
and  the  attainment  of  that  eternal  life,  and  also 
an  increase  of  glory  :  let  him  be  anathema."* 

Closely  connected  with  the  doctrine  of  good 
works  is  that  of  indulgences.  An  indulgence  is 
defined  in  Roman  Catholic  theology  as  ' '  a  remis- 
sion of  that  temporal  punishment,  which,  even 
after  the  sin  is  forgiven,  we  have  yet  to  undergo, 
either  here  or  in  purgatory."  The  basis  of  the 
doctrine  is  found  in  works  of  supererogation, 
that  is,  works  in  excess  of  the  actual  needs  of  in- 
dividual redemption.  According  to  Papal  teach- 
ing, our  Saviour  and  the  saints  accomplished 
much  more  than  was  needed  for  salvation.  This 
excess  constitutes  a  spiritual  treasure,  of  which 
the  Pope  is  trustee  or  guardian,  and  which  he  may 
draw  on  at  will  to  meet  the  wants  of  individual 
believers.  Or,  to  quote  from  Deharbe,  ' '  Indul- 
gences derive  their  value  and  efficacy  from  the 
spiritual  treasure  of  the  Church,  which  consists  of 
the  superabundant  merits  and  satisfactions  of  Christ 
and  the  saints.  This  treasure  is  to  be  considered 
as  the  common  property  of  the  faithful,  commit- 
ted to  the  administration  of  the  Church  ;  since,  by 
virtue  of  the  communion  of  saints  by  which  Ave 
are  united  as  members  of  one  body,  the  abund- 
ance of  some  supplies  the  want  of  others. ' '  This 
doctrine,  as  will  be  readily  perceived,  naturally 

*  Sixth  Session,  Canon  XXXII. 


THE    JX)(TRINAL    SYSTEM    OF    THE    PAPACY.       43 

U'uds  to  gross  abuses.  At  the  period  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, unscrupulous  vendors,  with  episcopal 
authority  and  connivance,  imposed  upon  the  cre- 
duhty  of  the  ignorant  masses,  magnified  the  scope 
and  power  of  indulgences,  and  sold  pardons,  at  a 
fixed  schedule  of  prices,  not  only  for  past,  but 
also  for  future  sins.  The  sale  of  indulgences  was 
repeatedly  used  as  a  means  of  replenishing  the 
Papal  treasury  at  Rome. 

Another  distinctive  feature  of  the  Roman  sys- 
tem, in  contrast  with  that  of  Protestantism,  is  the 
invocation  of  saints  and  the  veneration  of  relics. 
It  is  taught  that  the  saints,  who  are  present  with 
Christ,  offer  up  prayers  for  the  faithful  on  earth, 
and  that  it  is  salutary  to  petition  them  for  their 
intercession.  Their  relics  are  to  be  cherished  and 
honored  as  sacred.  The  Council  of  Trent  enjoined 
upon  bishops,  and  others  who  fulfilled  the  charge 
of  teaching,  to  instruct  the  faithful  'Hhat  the 
saints,  w^ho  reign  together  with  Christ,  offer  up 
their  own  prayers  to  God  for  men  ;  that  it  is  good 
and  useful  suppliantly  to  invoke  them,  and  to 
have  recourse  to  their  prayers,  aid,  and  help  for 
obtaining  benefits  from  God.  .  .  .  Also,  that  the 
holy  bodies  of  holy  martyrs,  and  of  others  now 
li\dng  with  Christ,  are  to  be  venerated  by  the 
faithful ;  through  which  bodies  many  benefits  are 
l)estowed  by  God  on  men;  so  that  they  who  affirm 
that  veneration  and  honor  are  not  due  to  the  relics 
of  saints  ;  or  that  these,  and  other  sacred  monu- 
ments, are  uselessly  honored  by  the  faithful ;  and 
that  the  places  dedicated  to  the  memories  of  the 
saints  are  in  vain  visited  with  the  view  of  obtain- 
ing their  aid,  are  wholly  to  be  condemned,  as  the 
Church  has  already  long  since  condemned,  and 
noAV  also  condemns  them."  -^     This  doctrine,  par- 

*  Twenty-fifth  Session. 


44  THE    EEFORMATION    DAWN. 

ticularly  among  people  of  low  culture,  is  sure  to 
lead  to  superstition  and  fraud.  Patron  saints, 
who  come  between  the  soul  and  God,  are  multi- 
plied. As  objects  of  increasing  adoration,  they 
obscure,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  love  and 
mercy  of  God.  Relics  are  credited  with  miracu- 
lous powers,  and  are  worn  as  amulets.  As  treas- 
ures of  priceless  value,  they  l^ecome  objects  of 
liargain  and  sale  ;  and  the  frauds  connected  with 
them  have  always  been  a  scandal  to  the  Papal 
Church. 

This  entire  doctrinal  system,  which  is  skillfully 
defended  l)y  Roman  writers,  will  be  recognized  l)y 
the  Protestant  reader  as  without  Scripture  warrant. 
AMiat,  then,  is  the  source  of  doctrine  in  Roman- 
ism ?  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  recognizes  two 
sources  of  doctrinal  truth,  l^oth  having  equal  au- 
thority. The  iirst  of  these  is  Holy  Scripture,  in- 
cluding the  Apocrypha  ;  the  other  is  tradition,  or 
the  beliefs  transmitted  orally  from  the  apostles. 
Both,  however,  are  to  be  infallil^ly  interpreted  ])y 
the  head  of  the  Church,  that  is,  the  Pope.  The 
right  of  private  interpretation  of  the  Scripture  is 
wholly  denied  to  clergy  and  laity  ;  and  the  doc- 
trine of  tradition  enables  the  Roman  Pontiff  to 
promulgate  any  doctrine  whatever  that  may  be 
deemed  useful  to  the  Church.  With  this  double 
source  of  authority,  and  this  exclusive  right  of 
interpretation,  there  is  no  doctrine  that  may  not 
be  imposed  upon  the  passive  credulity  of  the 
laity. 

To  the  end  that  the  laity  may  l)e  wholly  de- 
pendent on  the  hierarchy  for  its  faith  and  morals, 
the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  no  less  than  the 
promotion  of  popular  education,  has  been  re- 
strained and  discouraged  by  the  Papacy.  This 
fact  is  often   denied  by  Roman  Avriters.     In   his 


THE    DOCTRINAL    SYSTEM    OF    THE    TAPACY.       45 

popular  and  plausible  defense  of  the  Papal  sys- 
tem, Cardinal  Gibbons  waxes  eloquent  on  this 
point.  ' '  God  forbid, ' '  he  exclaims,  ' '  that  any 
of  my  readers  should  be  tempted  to  conclude  from 
what  I  have  said  that  the  [Roman]  Catholic 
Church  is  opposed  to  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
or  that  she  is  the  enemy  of  the  Bible.  The  [Ro- 
man] Catholic  Church  the  enemy  of  the  Bible  ! 
Good  God!  What  monstrous  ingratitude,  what 
base  calumny  is  contained  in  that  assertion  !  "  ^ 
But  declamation  does  not  alter  facts.  The  Council 
of  Trent  passed  ten  rules  in  relation  to  prohibited 
books,  which  rules  w^ere  approved  by  Pius  IV.  in 
a  bull  issued  in  1564.  The  fourth  rule  is  as  fol- 
lows :  ' '  Inasmuch  as  it  is  manifest  from  experi- 
ence, that  if  the  Holy  Bible,  translated  into  the 
vulgar  tongue,  be  indiscriminately  allowed  to 
everyone,  the  temerity  of  men  will  cause  more 
evil  than  good  to  arise  from  it,  it  is,  on  this  point, 
referred  to  the  judgment  of  the  bishops  or  inquis- 
itors, who  may,  by  the  advice  of  the  priest  or  con- 
fessor, permit  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  translated 
into  the  vulgar  tongue  by  Catholic  authors,  to 
those  persons  whose  faith  and  piety,  they  appre- 
hend, wdll  be  augmented,  and  not  injured  by  it ; 
and  this  permission  they  must  have  in  writing. 
But  if  anyone  shall  have  the  presumption  to  read 
or  possess  it  without  such  written  permission,  he 
shall  not  receive  aljsolution  until  he  have  first 
delivered  up  such  Bible  to  the  ordinary.  Book- 
sellers, however,  who  shall  sell  or  otherwise  dis- 
pose of  Bibles  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  to  any  person 
not  having  such  permission,  shall  forfeit  the  value 
of  the  books,  to  be  applied  by  the  bishop  to  some 
pious  use,  and  be  subjected  by  the  l)ishop  to  such 
other  penalties  as  the  bishop  shall  judge  proper, 

*  Gibbons'  "  The  Faith  of  Our  Fathers,"  p.  112. 


46  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

according  to  the  quality  of  the  offense. ' '  ^  This  is 
the  official  expression  of  the  Papacy's  attitude 
toward  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures. 

From  the  foregoing  considerations,  it  is  made  ap- 
parent that  nearly  every  leading  distinctive  doc- 
trine of  the  Papacy,  when  free  to  assert  itself  fully, 
naturally  and  inevitably  runs  out  into  gross  and 
often  dreadful  al^uses.  The  dogmatic  system  of 
the  Papacy  impresses  on  Christianity,  which  orig- 
inally consisted  in  truth,  love,  and  righteousness, 
a  predominantly  external  character.  It  has  im- 
ported Jewish  and  heathen  elements.  It  makes 
the  Church  a  visible  despotism,  over  which  the 
hierarchy,  with  the  Pope  at  the  head,  reigns  su- 
preme. The  sacraments,  which  are  craftil)^  mul- 
tiplied, are  made  efficacious  in  and  of  themselves. 
The  religious  life  of  the  laity  consists  primarily  in 
o])edience  to  the  teachings  of  the  Church.  Good 
works  par  excellence  are  those  duties  imposed  by  the 
Church — pious  acts  of  human  invention.  All 
freedom  is  taken  from  the  laity  ;  as  far  as  possible 
their  intellectual  culture  is  dwarfed  ;  and  for  their 
l)eliefs,  as  well  as  for  their  salvation,  they  are  ab- 
solutely dependent  on  the  hierarchy.  Such  was 
the  Papacy  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
such  in  spirit  is  it  to-day. 

*  Smets'  "  Coucilii  Tridentint" 


CHAPTER  III. 

STATE    OF   THE    CHURCH. 

Our  study  up  to  this  point  will  help  us  to 
understand  better  the  condition  of  the  Roman 
Church  at  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
moral  and  spiritual  decadence  of  the  hierarchy 
and  monasteries  was  not  an  accident,  as  might  be 
supposed,  but  a  natural  and  inevitable  result  of 
the  organization  and  errors  of  the  doctrinal  system 
of  the  Papacy.  The  same  degeneracy  Avill  be 
found,  to  a  greater  or  -less  degree,  wherever 
Roman  Catholicism  is  left  free  to  work  out  its 
natural  tendencies.  In  contact  with  Protestant- 
ism, the  evil  tendencies  of  Romanism  are  more  or 
less  restrained.  It  is  forced  to  a  higher  moral  and 
spiritual  plane — a  fact  that  sometimes  deceives  the 
unwary  as  to  the  real  character  of  the  Papal  sys- 
tem. 

The  actual  condition  of  the  Roman  Church  in 
the  fifteenth  century  has  given  rise  to  no  little  dis- 
cussion. Papal  writers  endeavor  to  present  the 
condition  of  the  Church  in  the  most  favorable 
light,  and  without  exception  maintain  that  the 
evils  of  the  time  are  grossly  exaggerated.  Car- 
dinal Newman  boldly  charges  Protestant  writers 
with  wholesale  Ijdng.  Janssen  has  rewritten  the 
history  of  the  Reformation  period  in  order  to  pre- 
sent it  in  a  creditable  light.  But,  in  spite  of 
Roman  Catholic  denials,  an  examination  of  the 
facts  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  in  any  unprejudiced 
(47) 


48  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

mind.  While  there  were  not  a  few  spiritual- 
minded  ecclesiastics  and  laymen,  the  state  of  the 
Church  as  a  whole  was  deplorable.  As  we  shall 
see,  from  the  Pope  down  to  the  humblest  servant 
of  the  Church,  there  were  unbelief,  superstition, 
worldliness,  and  wrong.  Nearly  every  distinctive 
feature  of  the  Roman  system  produced  a  corre- 
sponding abuse,  scandal,  or  impiety. 

According  to  the  authoritative  teachings  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  as  already  pointed  out, 
the  Pope  as  Vicegerent  of  Christ  on  earth  is  the 
source  of  all  spiritual  and  temporal  ])ower.  While 
sitting  in  judgment  on  others,  and  while  directing 
the  energies  of  a  mighty  despotism,  he  is  himself 
answerable  to  none.  He  occupies  the  giddy 
height  of  the  primacy  of  the  world.  The  Papal 
Chair  thus  becomes  an  incomparable  prize  for  the 
machinations  of  unholy  men.  The  case  of  Alex- 
ander VI.  will  serve  for  illustration.  ''  The  simo- 
niacal  character  of  his  election,"  says  Richard 
Garnett  in  a  judicious  sketch,  ''is  indisputable. 
We  need  not  believe  that  the  opulent  and  high- 
spirited  Cardinal  Ascanio  Sforza  was  tempted  Avith 
four  muleloads  of  silver,  but  his  instant  elevation 
to  the  vice-chancellorship  speaks  for  itself.  Car- 
dinal Orsino  was  bought  with  Borgia's  palace  in 
Rome ;  Cardinal  Colonna  with  the  Abbey  of 
Sabiaco  ;  money  gained  the  minor  members  of  the 
Sacred  College  ;  five  cardinals  alone  are  recorded 
as  incorruptible. ' '  * 

The  Popes  for  half  a  century  before  the  Reforma- 
tion— Sixtus  IV.,  Alexander  VI. ,  Julius  II.,  Leo 
X. — were  worldly-minded,  self-seeking  men. 
Nepotism   was    a    common    scandal.     The    only 

*  Encyclopaedia  Brit.,  art.  Alexauder  VI.  Alzog  ("  Kircheuges- 
chiehte,"  II.,  p.  185)  admits  his  criminal  character  and  bribery.  See 
Hanke's  "  History  of  the  Pope,"  I.,  p.  35  ;  also  D'Aubigue's  "  History  of 
tlie  Reformation,"  I.,  chap.  III. 


STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH.  49 

care  of  Alexander  VI. ,  as  Ranke  states,  ' '  was 
to  seize  on  all  means  that  might  aid  him  to 
increase  his  power,  and  advance  the  wealth  and 
dignity  of  his  sons  ;  on  no  other  snl)ject  did  he 
ever  seriously  bestow  a  thought."  During  his 
pontificate  Rome  was  terrorized  by  his  son,  Caesar 
Borgia,  whom  he  had  raised  to  the  cardinalate  at 
the  age  of  eighteen.  "His  own  brother,"  says 
the  able  historian  last  quoted,  "  stood  in  his  way  ; 
Ca3sar  caused  him  to  be  murdered  and  thrown  into 
the  Tiber.  His  brother-in-law  was  assailed  and 
stabbed,  by  his  orders,  on  the  steps  of  his  palace. 
The  wounded  man  was  nursed  by  his  wife  and 
sister,  the  latter  preparing  his  food  with  her  own 
hands  to  secure  him  from  poison."*  But  Caesar 
laughed  at  these  precautions.  "  What  cannot  be 
done  at  noon-day,"  he  said,  "may  be  accom- 
plished in  the  evening. ' '  A  little  later  his  brother- 
in-hiAv  was  strangled. 

The  Popes  frequently  engaged  in  wars  to  further 
their  amlntious  projects.  Julius  II.  was  not  so 
much  an  ecclesiastic  as  a  warrior  and  statesman. 
Though  a  patron  of  art  and  science,  he  was  almost 
incessantly  engaged  in  wars  and  political  intrigues. 
' '  That  this  Julius  II. , "  says  Mosheim, ' '  possessed, 
l)esides  other  vices,  very  great  ferocity,  arrogance, 
vanity,  and  a  mad  passion  for  war,  is  proved  by 
abundant  testimony.  In  the  first  place,  forming 
an  alliance  with  the  emjDcror  and  the  King  of 
France,  he  made  war  upon  the  Venetians.  He 
next  laid  seige  to  Ferrara  ;  and  at  last,  drawing 
the  Venetians,  the  Swiss,  and  the  Spaniards  to  en- 
gage in  the  war  with  him,  he  made  an  attack  upon 
Louis  XII. ,  the  King  of  France.  Nor  so  long  as 
he  lived  did  he  cease  from  embroiling  all  P]u- 
rope."  t 

*  Ranke's  "History  of  the  Popes,"  I.,  p.  37. 
t  Mosheim's  "  Ecc.  History,"  III.,  p.  9. 


50  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Leo  X. ,  was  no  less  worldlj^-mincled.  ' '  Since 
God  has  given  us  the  Papacy, ' '  he  said,  ' '  let  us 
enjoy  it. ' '  He  cared  far  more  for  ease,  elegance, 
and  luxury  than  for  the  flock  of  God,  over  which 
he  claimed  to  be  supreme  bishop.  "An  ardent 
admirer  of  classic  and  human  culture,"  says  the 
Papal  historian  Alzog,  ' '  he  possessed  a  refined 
taste,  had  a  love  of  elegant  literature,  and  was  sin- 
cerely devoted  to  the  arts  and  sciences.  But,  for 
all  this,  he  was  entirely  destitute  of  the  motives 
and  spirit  which  should  form  the  guiding  princi- 
ples in  the  life  of  an  ecclesiastic,  and  was,  more- 
over, lavishly  extravagant."  * 

In  keeping  with  their  exalted  station  as  primates 
over  the  whole  earth,  the  Popes  surrounded  them- 
selves with  great  splendor.  The  Papal  court  was 
the  most  magnificent  in  Europe.  To  maintain 
this  outAvard  splendor,  large  revenues  were  needed. 
From  four  sources  the  Papal  treasury  Avas  contin- 
ually replenished  :  1.  The  income  from  the  States 
of  the  Church  ;  2.  The  Roman  Law  Courts,  to 
which  cases  were  appealed  from  all  parts  of  Eu- 
rope ;  3.  The  annats  or  first  year's  income  of 
every  bishop,  priest,  and  abbot,  who  was  pre- 
sented to  a  benefice  ;  and,  4.  The  sale  of  pardons, 
dispensations,  and  indulgences.  The  latter,  as  we 
shall  see,  became  a  regular  traffic,  attended  with 
outrageous  abuses.  All  parts  of  western  Europe 
were  laid  under  heavy  tribute  to  maintain  the 
more  than  regal  splendor  of  the  Roman  Court. 
The  demands  of  Rome  were  insatiable.  ' '  Nearly 
all  the  disputes  occurring  at  this  period,"  says 
Ranke,  ' '  between  the  several  states  of  Europe  and 
the  Roman  Court  arose  out  of  these  exactions, 
which  the  Curia  sought  by  every  possible  means 

*  Alzog's  "  Universal  Church  History,"  II.,  p.  918. 


STATE    OF    THE    THUKCH.  51 

to  increase,  Avliile  the  people  of  all  countries  as 
zealously  strove  to  restrain  them."  --^ 

An  irreverent,  skeptical,  immoral  tone  prevailed 
in  Rome.  When  Luther  in  loll  was  dispatched 
thither  as  envoy  of  the  Augustine  brotherhood,  he 
heard  prelates  boast  that  in  the  mass,  instead  of 
the  sacramental  words,  they  mockingly  pronounced 
over  the  elemeiits,  "Bread  thou  art,  and  bread 
thou  shalt  remain  ;  wine  thou  art,  and  wine  thou 
shalt  remain."  The  Sixth  Lateran  Council,  which 
met  in  1513,  deemed  it  advisable,  in  the  presence 
of  prevailing  skepticism,  to  prepare  a  decree 
against  those  who  denied  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  Popes  and  cardinals  not  infrequently  led 
inmioral  lives,  and  desecrated  the  Vatican  with 
dissolute  entertainments. 

Alzog,  who  shields  the  Papacy  as  far  as  possible, 
admits  that  ' '  the  frivolity  and  questionable  tone 
of  morals  which  prevailed  at  the  Papal  Court  after 
Alexander  had  become  Pope,  and  which,  if  he  did 
not  openly  encourage,  he  was  at  no  great  pains  to 
correct,  gave  opportunities  to  his  many  enemies  to 
spread  all  sorts  of  scandalous  stories,  and  to  in- 
dulge in  tlie  most  extravagant  exaggeration.  He 
did  indeed  greatly  abuse  his  power  to  secure  posi- 
tions of  profit  and  honor  for  his  children.  He 
created  his  oldest  son,  Juan,  Duke  of  Gandia,  and 
fixed  upon  him  man}^  estates  in  the  kingdom  of 
Naples  ;  he  also  bestowed  upon  him  the  Duchy  of 
Benevento,  which  he  had  detached  from  the  States 
of  the  Church."  f  In  like  manner,  Creighton,  who 
accepts  only  what  can  be  established  by  indisput- 
able testimony,  and  who  rejects  many  statements 
made  by  earlier  historians,  still  says  that  ' '  the  Vati- 
can was  frequently  the  scene  of  indecent  orgies,  at 

*  Ranke's  "  History  of  the  Popes,"  I.,  p.  48. 

t  Alzog's  "  Universal  Church  History,"  II.,  p.  909. 


52  .     THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

which  the  Pope  did  not  scruple  to  be  present. 
Men  shrugged  their  shoulders  at  these  things,  and 
few  in  Rome  were  seriously  shocked.  The  age  was 
corrupt,  and  the  Pope's  example  sanctioned  its 
corruption.''  ^ 

The  worldliness,  skepticism,  and  immorality 
reigning  at  the  Papal  Court  could  not  fail  to  exert 
a  demoralizing  influence  upon  ev^ry  grade  of  the 
hierarchy.  The  head  gave  moral  tone  to  the 
members.  Ecclesiastical  ofhces  were  bought  and 
sold.  ' '  The  Pope  nominated  cardinals  from  no 
better  motive  than  personal  favor,  the  gratification 
of  some  potentate,  or  even,  and  this  was  no  infre- 
quent occurrence,  for  actual  payment  of  money! 
Could  there  be  any  rational  expectation  that  men  so 
appointed  would  fulfill  their  spiritual  duties  ?  One 
of  the  most  important  ofhces  of  the  Church,  the 
Penitenziaria,  Avas  bestoAved  l)v  Sixtus  IV.  on  one 
of  his  nephcAvs,  This  office  held  a  large  ])ortion  of 
the  poAver  of  granting  dispensations  ;  its  privileges 
AA^ere  still  further  extended  l)y  the  Pope,  and  in  a  bull 
issued  for  the  express  purpose  of  confirming  them, 
he  declares  all  Avho  shall  presume  to  doul)t  the  rec- 
titude of  such  measures  to  be  '  a  stiff-necked  peo- 
ple and  children  of  malice.'  It  folloAved  as  a 
matter  of  course  that  his  nephcAV  considered  his 
office  as  a  benefice,  the  proceeds  of  Avhich  he  Avas 
entitled  to  increase  to  the  utmost  extent  pos- 
sible." f 

Incompetent  persons  Avere  frequently  appointed 
to  high  ecclesiastical  j^ositions.  The  occupants  of 
rich  benefices  often  handed  OA'er  their  duties  to 
subordinates,  Avhile  they  Avent  to  live  amid  the 
splendors  of  courts  and  cities.  One  of  the  praise- 
worthy features  in   the  life  of  Chaucer' s   ' '  poor 

*  Creighton's  "  History  of  the  Papacy,"  A".,  p.  57. 
t  Ranke's  "  History  of  the  Popes,"  I.',  p.  42. 


STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH.  53 

parson"  was  that,  unlike  the  coninion  practice  of 
liis  clay — 

"  He  sette  not  his  benefice  to  hyre, 
And  leet  liis  scheep  enconibred  in  the  myre, 
And  ran  to  London,  unto  Seynte  Ponies, 
To  seeken  him  a  chaunterie  "for  sonles, 
Or  with  a  brotherhood  to  ben  withholde  ; 
But  dwelte  at  lionie,  and  kepte  well  his  folde, 
So  that  the  wolf  ne  made  it  not  myscarye  ; 
He  was  a  schepherde  and  no  mercenarie."  ^ 

The  complaint  against  l)ishops  was  widespread. 
They  liyed  in  the  midst  of  splendor,  and  S(iuan- 
dered  in  sensual  pleasures  the  revenues  of  the 
Church.  In  seeking  to  extend  their  authority, 
they  were  frequently  at  war  with  cities  and  princes. 
Brantome,  who  was  not  friendly  to  the  evangelical 
movement,  bears  testimony  to  the  debasement  of 
the  episcopacy.  After  afhrming  that  the  bishops 
frequently  bought  their  sees  for  money,  he  con- 
tinues :  ' '  And  when  they  have  attained  these  high 
dignities,  God  knows  what  lives  they  led.  Assur- 
edly they  were  far  more  devoted  to  their  dioceses 
than  they  have  since  been  ;  for  they  never  left 
them.  But  it  was  to  lead  a  most  dissolute  life 
with  their  dogs  and  birds,  with  their  feasts,  ban- 
quets, marriage  entertainments,  and  courtesans,  of 
whom  they  gathered  seraglios. ' '  f 

Erasmus,  commenting  on  INlatthew  xxiii.  in  his 
edition  of  the  New  Testament,  which  api)eared  in 
1516,  thus  speaks  of  the  bishops  :  "  You  may  find 
a  bishop  here  and  there  who  teaches  the  Gospel, 
though  life  and  teaching  have  small  agreement. 
But  what  shall  we  say  of  those  who  destroy  the 
Gospel  itself,  make  laws  at  their  will,  tyrannize 
over  the  laity,  and  measure  right  and  wrong  with 


*  Chaucer's  "  Prologue,"  Hues  507-514. 
t  Baird's  "  Rise  of  the  Huguenots  iu  F 


ranee,"  p.  53. 


54  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

rules  constructed  by  themselves?  Of  those  who 
entangle  their  flocks  in  the  meshes  of  crafty  canons, 
who  sit  not  in  the  seat  of  the  Gospel,  but  in  the 
seat  of  Caiaphas  and  Simon  ]\Iagus — prelates  of 
evil,  who  bring  disgrace  and  discredit  on  their 
worthier  brethren  ?  "  ^ 

Ignorance  was  one  of  the  most  venial  defects  of 
the  parochial  clergy.  As  their  duties  consisted 
chiefly  in  the  administration  of  the  seven  sacra- 
ments, they  had  but  little  stimulus  to  learning. 
Preaching  the  Gospel  was  generally  neglected,  since 
in  place  of  evangelical  piety  was  substituted  a 
system  of  ecclesiastical  or  work  righteousness.  In- 
asmuch as  all  theological  truth  was  authoritatively 
and  infallibly  determined  by  the  Pope,  there  was 
no  need  of  superior  learning.  ' '  In  almost  every 
council,"  says  Hallam,  "the  ignorance  of  the 
clergy  forms  a  subject  for  reproach.  Not  one 
priest  of  a  thousand  in  Spain,  about  the  age  of 
Charlemagne,  could  address  a  common  letter  of 
salutation  to  another.  In  England,  Alfred  declares 
that  he  could  not  recollect  a  single  priest  south  of 
the  Thames  (the  most  civihzed  part  of  England), 
at  the  time  of  his  accession,  who  understood  the 
ordinary  prayers,  or  could  translate  Latin  into  the 
mother  tongue.  Nor  was  it  l^etter  in  the  time  of 
Dunstan,  when,  it  is  said,  none  of  the  clergy 
knew  how  to  write  or  translate  a  Latin  letter."  f 
Similar  causes  produced  sul^stantially  the  same 
results  up  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  ^le- 
lanchthon  and  Luther,  who  made  a  visitation  of 
the  churches  in  Thuringia  and  Saxony,  lament  the 
ignorance  of  the  priesthood  and  the  neglect  of  in- 
struction among  the  people. 

The  immorality  of  the  parochial  clergy,  grow- 

*  Fronde's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  12L 
t  Hallam's  "  Middle  Ages,"  p.  949. 


STATE    OF    THE    (/HURCII.  55 

ing  out  of  the  unscriptural  and  unnatural  law  of 
t'clibacy,  was  a  great  scandal.  This  law,  based  on 
the  idea  of  a  higher  morality  and  of  greater  devo- 
tion to  the  Church,  was  enforced  more  strictly  after 
the  time  of  Gregory  VII.  Apart  from  other  forms 
of  vice,  celibacy  frequently  led  to  concubinage, 
which  was  sometimes  winked  at  both  by  the  bish- 
ops and  the  people.  The  former,  by  charging  a 
tax,  made  concubinage  a  source  of  income  ;  the 
latter  found  in  it  a  protection  for  their  families. 
Nicolas  de  Clemanges,  a  doctor  of  the  University 
of  Paris,  and  Secretary  to  Benedict  XIII. ,  says  in 
discussing  the  degenerate  condition  of  the  Church  : 
' '  Bishops  do  not  hesitate  to  sell  to  priests  licenses 
to  keep  concubines.  No  care  is  taken  to  ordain 
proper  persons  to  the  priesthood.  Men  who  are 
lazy  and  do  not  choose  to  work,  but  who  Avish  to 
live  in  idleness,  fly  to  the  priesthood  ;  as  priests, 
they  frecjuent  Ijrothels  and  taverns,  and  spend  their 
time  in  drinking,  reveling,  and  gaml)ling,  fight  and 
brawl  in  their  cups,  and  with  their  polluted  lips 
l)laspheme  the  name  of  God  and  the  saints,  and 
from  the  embraces  of  prostitutes  hurry  to  the 
altar."* 

At  the  Nuremberg  Diet  in  1522,  concubinage 
was  one  of  the  evils  complained  of.  It  came  to  light 
there  that  Bishop  Hugo,  of  Landenberg,  compelled 
the  relatively  few  clergymen  who  were  living  in 
celibacy  to  pay  the  concubinage  tax.  It  did  not 
concern  him,  he  declared,  that  they  Avere  living 
Avithout  concubines,  and  that  he  could  not  lose  his 
income  because  they  did  not  choose  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  privilege.  The  income  Avhich  the 
bishop  received  from  this  source  is  said  to  haA^e 
amounted  to  six  or  seven  thousand  florins.  In  a 
letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Costnitz,  ZAvingii  refers  to 

*  Creightou's  "  History  of  the  Papacy,"  p.  301. 


56  THE    REFORMATION    DAAVX. 

two  well-established  facts,  namely  :  that  the  Ijish- 
ops  collected  money  from  the  concubines  of  clergy- 
men and  their  children,  and  that  the  Swiss 
congregations,  according  to  ancient  custom,  made 
it  the  duty  of  newly  established  pastors  to  keep 
concubines  for  the  protection  of  their  own  families. 
' '  In  every  country, ' '  says  Hallam,  ' '  the  secular 
or  parochial  clergy  kept  women  in  their  houses, 
upon  more  or  less  acknowedged  terms  of  inter- 
course, by  a  connivance  of  their  ecclesiastical 
superiors,  which  almost  amounted  to  a  positive 
toleration.  The  sons  of  priests  were  capable  of  in- 
heriting by  the  law  of  France  and  also  of  Castile. ' '  * 
Under  the  operation  of  this  same  law  of  celi- 
bacy, the  monasteries  frequently  fell  into  great 
moral  depravity.  Instead  of  maintaining  the  high 
spiritual  standard,  Avhich  was  their  ideal,  they  fell 
under  the  grossest  reign  of  the  flesh.  At  its  best, 
the  monastic  life,  as  it  is  sometimes  portrayed,  ap- 
pears very  beautiful ;  but  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  as  is  shown  by  abundant  testimony, 
they  had  generally  become  more  or  less  idle,  igno- 
rant, and  licentious.  In  reference  to  the  monas- 
teries, a  contemi)orary  author  already  quoted  says  : 
"  Generally  the  monks  elected  the  most  jovial  com- 
panion, him  who  was  the  most  fond  of  women,  dogs, 
and  birds,  the  deepest  drinker,  in  short  the  most 
dissipated  ;  and  this  in  order  that,  when  they  had 
made  him  abbot  or  prior,  they  might  be  permitted 
to  indulge  in  similar  debauch  and  pleasure."  f 
Francis  I.  used  to  say  that  the  monks  were  good 
for  nothing  but  to  eat  and  drink,  to  frequent  tav- 
erns and  gamble,  to  twist  cords  for  the  cross-bow, 
set  traps  for  ferrets  and  rabbits,  and  train  linnets 
to  whistle. ' ' 

*  Hallam's  "  Middle  Ages,"  p.  862. 

t  Baird's  "  Rise  of  the  Huguenots,"  p.  55. 


statp:  of  the  church.  57 

The  great  scholar,  Erasmus,  Avho  in  his  youth 
was  deluded  into  entering  a  monastery,  frequently 
refers  to  the  ignorance  and  depravity  of  the  monks. 
"Monks  are  to  obey  their  abbots.  Oaths  are  ex- 
acted that  want  of  submission  may  l)e  punished 
as  perjury.  It  may  happen,  it  often  does  hai)pen, 
that  an  abbot  is  a  fool  or  a  drunkard.  He  issues 
an  order  to  the  brotherhood  in  the  name  of  hoh^ 
obedience.  And  what  will  such  an  order  be  ?  An 
order  to  observe  chastity  ?  An  ordei  to  be  solder  ? 
An  order  to  tell  no  lies  ?  Not  one  of  these  things. 
It  will  be  that  a  brother  is  not  to  learn  Greek  ;  he 
is  not  to  seek  to  instruct  himself.  He  may  be  a 
sot.  He  may  go  Avith  prostitutes.  He  may  be 
full  of  hatred  and  malice.  He  may  never  look 
inside  the  Scriptures.  No  matter.  He  has  not 
broken  any  oath.  He  is  an  excellent  memlier  of 
the  community.  While  if  he  disobeys  such  a 
command  as  this  from  an  insolent  superior,  there 
is  stake  or  dungeon  for  him  instantly. ' '  * 

Unfavorable  testimony  in  relation  to  both  fria- 
ries and  nunneries  might  be  indefinitely  multi- 
plied. Their  general  decadence  and  corruption 
can  he  (juestioned  only  l)y  denying  the  declarations 
of  councils  and  the  reports  of  investigating  com- 
mittees, as  well  as  the  numl)erless  statements  of 
individual  writers.  "In  vain,"  says  Hallam, 
"new  rules  of  discipline  were  devised,  or  the  old 
corrected  by  reforms.  Many  of  their  worst  vices 
grew  so  naturally  out  of  their  mode  of  life,  that 
a  stricter  discipline  could  have  no  tendency  to  ex- 
tirpate them.  Their  extreme  licentiousness  was 
sometimes  hardly  concealed  by  the  cowl  of  sanc- 
tity.'' t  Even  Alzog  is  forced  to  acknowledge 
that  ' '  the  transactions  of  councils  showed  only  too 

*  Froude's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Kra^sIm^s,"  p.  68. 
t  Ilallam's  "  Middle  Ages,"  \>.  960. 


58  THE    REFOKMATION    DAWN. 

clearly  that  the  religious  spirit  impressed  on  the 
cloisters  by  their  founders  more  and  more  de- 
clined. Increasing  wealth,  especially  after  the 
distracting  effects  of  the  schism,  suppressed  the 
studious  pursuits  formerly  carried  on  with  so  much 
love,  care,  and  tireless  industry.  Luxury  and  li- 
centiousness took  their  place  ;  even  the  nunneries 
sliared  this  disgrace."  * 

The  avarice  and  worldliness  of  the  Church  were 
exhibited  in  its  vast  accumulations  of  property. 
AAliile  a  part  of  this  wealth  was  accumulated  in 
legitimate  ways — by  the  gift  of  princes  and  the 
improvement  of  lands  attached  to  monasteries — 
much  of  it  was  obtained  by  oppression  and  fraud. 
The  payment  of  tithes  was  rigidly  exacted.  Leg- 
acies for  charitable  purposes  were  misappropriated. 
Charters  were  forged  by  ecclesiastics  who  were  al- 
most exclusively  in  possession  of  the  ability  to 
read  and  write.  "They  failed  not,  above  all,'' 
says  Hallam,  "to  inculcate  upon  the  wealthy  sin- 
ner that  no  atonement  could  be  so  acceptable  to 
Heaven  as  liberal  presents  to  its  earthly  delegates. 
To  die  without  allotting  a  portion  of  worldly  wealth 
to  pious  uses  was  accounted  almost  like  suicide, 
or  a  refusal  of  the  last  sacraments  ;  and  hence  in- 
testacy passed  for  a  sort  of  fraud  upon  the  Church, 
which  she  punished  by  taking  the  administration 
of  the  deceased's  effects  into  her  hands. 
The  canonical  penances  imposed  upon  repentant 
offenders,  extravagantly  severe  in  themselves,  Avere 
commuted  for  money  or  for  immovable  possessions 
— a  fertile  though  scandalous  source  of  monastic 
wealth,  which  the  Popes  afterward  diverted  into 
their  own  coffers  by  the  usage  of  dispensations 
and  indulgences. "  f     In  these  ways  the  Church  at 

*  Alzog's  "  Universal  Kirchengeschichte,''  II.,  p.  230. 
t  Hallam's  "  Middle  Ages,"  p.  837. 


STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH.  oU 

one  period  came  into  possession  of  nearly  half  the 
lands  of  England,  and,  probably,  a  still  greater 
proportion  in  other  parts  of  western  Europe. 

The  doctrine  of  the  mass  as  a  sacrifice  for  the 
living  and  the  dead  led  to  shameful  abuses.  The 
most  sacred  rite  of  the  Christian  Church  was  pros- 
tituted for  money.  It  was  often  celebrated  by  pro- 
liigate  men,  who  hurried  through  the  solemn  cere- 
mony in  heartless  and  indecent  haste.  There  were 
large  gifts  and  endowments  to  pay  for  the  repetition 
of  masses  for  souls  in  purgatory.  "  It  is  evident, ' ' 
the  Lutheran  reformers  say  in  their  confession 
presented  to  Charles  V.  at  Augsburg  in  1530, 
' '  that  of  long  time  this  hath  been  the  public  and 
most  grievous  complaint  of  all  good  men,  that 
masses  are  l:)asely  profaned,  being  used  for  gain. 
And  it  is  not  unknown  how  far  this  abuse  hath 
spread  itself  in  all  churches  ;  of  what  manner  of 
men  masses  are  used,  only  for  a  reward,  or  for 
wages  ;  and  how  many  do  use  them  against  the 
prohibition  of  the  Canons." 

The  so-called  sacrament  of  penance,  with  its 
minute  auricular  confession  and  its  various  pen- 
alties, was  likewise  associated  with  crying  evils. 
The  inmost  secrets  of  individual  and  family  life 
were  often  communicated  to  corrupt  priests  to  be 
taken  advantage  of  or  to  be  laughed  at.  Through 
the  secrets  thus  obtained  under  penalty  of  the 
soul's  salvation,  the  laity  frequently  passed  under 
the  complete  control  of  the  priesthood.  "Con- 
fessions, ' '  Erasmus  declares,  ' '  are  notoriously  be- 
trayed. The  aim  of  the  monks  is  not  to  benefit 
men's  souls,  but  to  gather  harvests  out  of  their 
purses,  learn  their  secrets,  rule  in  their  houses  ; 
and  everyone  who  knows  the  facts  will  understand 
Avhy  these  confessors  need   to   be  controlled."  * 

*  Froude's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  351. 


60  THE    REFOKMATION    DAWN. 

Elsewhere  he  declares  that  secret  confession  is  em- 
ployed to  extort  money,  and  is  made  an  instru- 
ment of  priestly  villany. 

A  still  more  scandalous  abuse  grew  out  of  the 
doctrine  of  indulgences.  It  was  bad  enough  to 
compound  for  imposed  penances  Avith  money.  But 
through  the  unscrupulous  character  of  the  licensed 
vendors  indulgences  for  sin  and  crime  were  freely 
sold.  A  scale  of  prices  for  various  iniquities  was 
fixed  in  advance.  When  Tetzel  set  up  his  indul- 
gence market  a  few  miles  from  Wittenberg,  he  de- 
clared ' '  that  his  red  cross  Avith  ,the  Papal  arms 
was  as  mighty  as  the  cross  of  Christ ;  that  he 
would  not  exchange  places  in  Heaven  wath  8t. 
Peter,  for  he  had  redeemed  more  souls  with  his  in- 
dulgences than  St.  Peter  with  his  Gospel ;  that  the 
grace  of  indulgences  was  precisely  the  grace  by 
which  man  is  reconciled  with  God  ;  and  that  it 
was  to  be  had  without  sorrow  or  penitence  through 
the  purchase  of  the  Pope's  letter  of  security  ;  for 
as  soon  as  the  money  rattled  in  the  chest,  the  soul 
leaped  from  purgatory  to  Heaven. "  *  It  is  diffi- 
cult for  us  to  realize  the  shamelessness  with  which 
this  traffic  was  carried  on,  or  the  superstition  that 
made  it  possible.  About  the  time  Tetzel  appeared 
in  Germany,  Sampson  went  to  Switzerland.  ' '  I 
can  forgive  all  sins, ' '  he  exclaimed  ;  ' '  Heaven  and 
hell  stand  under  my  dominion  ;  and  I  sell  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ  to  each  and  every  one  who 
is  willing  to  pay  in  ready  monev  for  an  absolu- 
tion." f 

The  invocation  or  adoration  of  saints  was  at- 
tended with  two  great  evils.  The  first  of  these 
was  pilgrimages.  The  graves  of  martyrs  or  can- 
onized saints  were  regarded  as  holy  places,   and 

*  Matthesius"  "  Leben  Luthers,"  p.  18. 

f  Christoffers  "  Zwingli,  or  Rise  of  the  Reformation,"  p.  139. 


STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH.  61 

pilgriiiiages  there  were  accounted  as  meritorious 
works.  Furthermore,  such  visits  were  supposed 
to  incUne  the  saint  to  intercession  in  behalf  of  the 
supphcant.  Numerous  miracles  were  supposed  to 
be  wrought  through  the  agency  of  the  saints. 
Nearly  every  countr}^  had  its  saintly  shrine,  as 
St.  Peter  at  Rome,  St.  Martin  at  Tours,  and  St. 
Thomas  at  Canterbury.  These  pilgrimages,  made 
in  a  spirit  of  sui)erstition  and  credulity,  were  at- 
tended with  hardships,  withdrew^  people  from  their 
regular  vocations,  and,  under  ecclesiastical  penal- 
ties, imposed  heavy  burdens  on  Christian  hospi- 
tality. John  Aurifaber,  addressing  the  mayors 
and  aldermen  of  the  imperial  cities  of  Strasburg, 
Augsburg,  Nuremberg,  and  others,  says  of  the  in- 
vocation of  saints  :  ' '  By  this  doctrine  i)eople  were 
seduced  and  carried  aAvay  to  heathenish  idolatry, 
and  took  their  refuge  in  dead  saints  to  help  and 
deliver  them,  and  made  them  their  gods,  in  whom 
they  i)ut  more  trust  and  confidence  than  in  our 
blessed  Saviour  Christ  Jesus  ;  and,  especially,  they 
placed  the  Virgin  Mary,  instead  of  her  Son  Christ, 
for  a  mediatrix  on  the  throne  of  grace.  Hence 
proceeded  the  i)ilgrimages  to  saints,  w^here  they 
sought  for  pardon  and  remission  of  sins. ' '  ^ 

In  like  manner  the  veneration  of  relics  gave  rise 
to  innumerable  superstitions  and  frauds.  Relics, 
worn  as  charms,  were  often  credited  with  miracu- 
lous powers.  They  were  exhibited  with  ]>omp  in 
the  churches.  They  were  carried  about  through 
the  country  for  the  veneration  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, being  exhibited  to  their  superstitious  gaze  for 
money.  At  Bamberg  in  Germany  there  was  a 
piece  of  the  crib  of  Christ ;  milk  from  the  Virgin 
Mary  ;  a  piece  of  Aaron's  rod,  which,  however, 
was  exhibited  at  ^lilan  entire.      At  Trier  the  sa- 

*  Luther's  "  Table  Talk,"  Preface. 


62  THE  rp:formation  dawn. 

cred  coat  of  Christ  is  still  kept.  At  Schaflfhausen 
the  breath  of  St.  Joseph,  contained  in  the  glove  of 
Nicodemus,  was  shown.  ^  At  Wittenberg  there 
was  a  piece  of  Noah' s  ark,  some  soot  from  the  fur- 
nace of  the  three  Hebrew  children,  some  hair  from 
the  l^eard  of  St.  Christopher,  and  nineteen  thou- 
sand other  relics,  f  In  his  comment  on  ^Iatthe^^' 
xxiii.  27,  Erasmus  says:  "What  would  Jer- 
ome say,  could  he  see  the  Virgin's  milk  exhibited 
for  money,  with  as  much  honor  paid  to  it  as  to 
the  consecrated  body  of  Christ ;  the  miraculous 
oil ;  the  portions  of  the  true  cross  ;  enough,  if  they 
were  collected,  to  freight  a  large  ship  ?  Here  we 
have  the  hood  of  St.  Francis,  there  Our  Lady's 
petticoat,  or  St.  Anne's  comb,  or  St.  Thomas  of 
Canterbury's  shoes ;  not  presented  as  innocent 
aids  to  religion,  but  as  the  substance  of  religion 
itself — and  all  through  the  avarice  of  priests  and 
the  hypocrisy  of  monks  playing  on  the  credulity 
of  the  people.  Even  bishops  play  their  parts  in 
these  fantastic  shows,  and  approve  and  dwell  on 
them  in  their  rescripts. ' '  I 

Such  were  the  results  to  Avhich  the  errors  of  the 
Roman  Church  naturall}",  and  in  an  age  of  ignor- 
ance and  superstition,  inevitably  led.  Were  the 
evidence  not  so  abundant,  we  might  be  tempted 
to  question  the  truth  of  this  travesty  of  Christi- 
anity, and  this  prevalence  of  ignorance,  fraud, 
and  oppression.  But  the  proof,  except  to  the 
willfully  and  stubbornly  blind,  is  overwhelming. 
The  virus  of  iniquity  at  Rome  extended  through- 
out the  realm  of  the  Papacy.  The  Pope,  though 
claiming  to  be  the  Vicegerent  of  Christ,  was, 
through    his    unwarranted    interference    and   his 

*  Kolb's  "  Culturgeschichte  der  Menschheit." 

t  D'Aubigne's  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  I.,  p.  60. 

j  Fronde's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  122. 


STATE    OF   THE    CHURCH.  63 

exacted  tributes,  the  oppressor  of  the  nations. 
Incompetent  and  worldly-minded  men  were  ele- 
vated to  high  ecclesiastical  station  through  favor 
and  bribery.  The  sacred  duties  of  their  office 
were  neglected  for  voluptuous  living.  The  reve- 
nues of  the  Church,  wrung  from  the  })oor  by  cruel 
exactions,  were  wasted  in  forbidden  pleasures. 
The  parochial  clergy,  in  violation  of  their  vows, 
often  lived  in  adultery,  which  was  condoned  or 
licensed  by  their  superiors.  The  monasteries, 
both  for  men  and  women,  were  centres  of  idle- 
ness, ignorance,  and  uncleanness.  The  sacraments 
w^ere  sold  or  used  to  wrest  money  from  the  pockets 
of  the  credulous.  Evangelical  piety,  which  con- 
sists in  a  life  of  loyal  obedience  to  God,  was 
replaced  by  pilgrimages,  fastings,  and  other  ec- 
clesiastical prescriptions.  The  laity  Avere  kept  in 
ignorance,  and,  in  this  condition,  their  supersti- 
tion was  played  upon  to  increase  the  wealth  and 
power  of  the  Papacy.  Surely,  if  truth  and  right- 
eousness were  not  to  perish  from  the  earth  forever, 
the  time  had  come  for  the  Papal  tyranny  to  be 
l^roken. 


PART  SECOND. 


INEFFECTUAL    EFFORTS    AT    REFORM    BEFORE 
THE    REFORMATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    MYSTICS. 


In  Part  First  we  have  traced  the  development 
of  the  Papacy  in  its  organization  and  doctrines, 
and  noted  their  effects  upon  the  general  life  of  the 
Church.  Among  the  different  orders  of  the  hie- 
rarchy we  have  found  world liness  and  corruption, 
and  among  the  laity  gross  ignorance  and  su})ersti- 
tion,  and  an  external  conformity  to  ecclesiastical 
requirements  in  place  of  a  piety  of  love  and  obe- 
dience to  God.  But,  as  already  indicated,  it 
would  be  an  error  to  su]3pose  that  the  entire 
Christian  life  of  western  Europe  had  been  per- 
verted. Below  the  prevailing  error  and  supersti- 
tion connected  with  the  Papal  system  there  still 
glowed  in  many  hearts  the  fervor  of  evangelical 
piety.  As  in  ancient  Israel,  when  the  prophet 
felt  solitary  in  his  fidelity  to  God,  there  were 
thousands  that  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal. 
To  some  extent  the  existing  errors,  both  in  doc- 
trine and  practice,  were  recognized  and  deplored. 
Not  only  were  there  individual  protests,  but  the 
voices  of  councils  and  entire  communities  were 
raised  against  the  existing  evils.  Throughout  the 
(64) 


TH1-:   MYSTICS.  65 

fifteenth  century,  and  even  earlier,  there  were 
])rc)phetic  voices  ;  but,  because  the  fuUness  of 
time  had  not  yet  come,  they  were  uttered  in  vain 
or  even  stifled  in  flame  and  blood. 

The  Papacy  or  Roman  monarchy  is  not,  as  its 
adherents  fondly  believe,  synonymous  with  the 
Christian  Church.  In  its  distinctive  features,  as 
has  already  been  made  clear,  it  is  anti-Scriptural 
and  anti-Christian.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the 
Roman  Church  endDodies  some  of  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  evangelical  faith.  It  accepts  the  ecu- 
menical creeds,  which  declare  the  primary  facts 
concerning  God  and  human  redemption.  In  its 
liturgical  formularies  it  makes  use  of  no  small 
amount  of  Scriptural  truth.  Thus  the  Roman 
system  of  doctrine  is  mingled  truth  and  error. 
But  there  have  always  been  souls  in  that  commu- 
nion who,  in  spite  of  the  encumbering  error,  still 
laid  hold  of  the  essential  truth,  and,  on  this  Ixisis, 
exhilnted  a  beautiful  life  of  faith  and  consecration. 
Not  a  few  of  the  recognized  saints  of  the  Roman 
Church  were  men  and  women  of  Christlike  spirit, 
as  were  also  not  a  few  whom  she  burned  at  the 
stake. 

In  the  morning  twilight  of  the  modern  era,  it 
could  hardly  be  expected  that  the  facts  connected 
with  the  Roman  Church  in  doctrine  and  life  could 
be  clearly  and  fully  apprehended.  It  was  a  time 
of  more  or  less  groping.  Hence  we  find  that  gen- 
erally the  reformatory  efforts  of  the  latter  part  of 
the  Middle  Ages  were  only  partial  and  inadequate. 
In  some  cases,  as  we  shall  see,  these  efforts  related 
only  to  doctrinal  errors  ;  in  other  cases,  princi- 
pally to  practical  reforms.  For  a  time  consider- 
able liberty  of  speculation  was  tolerated  ;  but  any 
active  efforts  at  reformation  speedily  issued  in  a 
conflict  with  the  Papal  power,  which  ])y  fire  and 
5 


66  THE    REFOKMATION    DAWN. 

crusade  endeavored  to  silence  its  enemies.  Thus 
the  mystics  and  speculative  theologians  were 
spared,  while  Savonarola  and  Huss  and  the  Wal- 
denses  were  destroyed. 

It  has  often  been  noticed  that  in  the  course  of 
history  one  extreme  tends  to  beget  another.  This 
is  true  of  scholasticism,  which  made  theology  a 
matter  of  the  intellect  alone.  Scholasticism  made 
the  effort,  often  with  astonishing  dialectic  acute- 
ness,  to  embrace  all  theological  truth  in  definitions 
and  logical  statements.  It  developed  or  embod- 
ied the  principles  and  doctrines  peculiarly  distinc- 
tive of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  reached 
its  climax  in  Thomas  Aquinas  (1224-1274),  who 
laid  a  scientific  foundation  for  the  doctrine  of 
works  of  supererogation,  of  transubstantiation, 
and  of  withholding  the  cup  from  the  laity.  His 
Summa  Theologia,  in  which  his  views  are  most  fully 
expressed,  Avas  the  first  attempt  at  a  complete  and 
consistent  theological  system. 

But  scholasticism,  which  seeks  to  embody  all 
theological  truth  in  scientific  logical  statements, 
can  never  be  universally  satisfying.  There  are 
persons  in  whose  soul-life  the  feelings  are  predom- 
inant. Emotion  becomes  a  greater  need  than 
thought.  Hence  it  happened  that  alongside  of 
scholasticism  there  ran  parallel  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  Middle  Ages  a  more  or  less  extended 
mysticism.  The  mystic  seeks  an  immediate  com- 
munion with  God  ;  he  strives  for  a  direct  vision 
of  the  infinite.  His  method  is  contemplation. 
He  does  not  employ  logical  methods  of  argument 
and  deduction,  but  retires  within  himself  to  brood 
and  Avait  for  light.  He  yearns  for  tlie  highest 
sanctification  that  he  may  be  prepared  for  the  bea- 
tific vision,  though  he  is  in  danger,  as  has  often 
happened,  of  running  into  antinomianism.     He 


TIIK    MVrfTlCS.  b/ 

naturally  seeks  quiet  and  retirement  as  the  most 
favorable  conditions  for  meditation  ;  and  the  con- 
scious presence  of  God  in  holy  benediction  is  es- 
teemed as  the  highest  good.  The  mystics  have 
sometimes  afforded  us  beautiful  types  of  spiritual 
culture  ;  and  the  ' '  Imitation  of  Christ ' '  by 
Thomas  a  Kempis  has  long  been  recognized,  in 
spite  of  its  ascetic  one-sidedness,  as  a  religious 
classic. 
-John  Ruysbroek  (1293-1381),  who  in  the 
Netherlands  and  in  Germany  gave  a  new  import- 
ance to  the  mystical  tendency,  exerted  a  wide  in- 
fluence upon  contemporary  life  and  thought.  As 
a  mystic,  he  escaped  in  a  measure  from  meditative 
one-  sidedness,  and  labored  actively  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  condition  of  the  Church.  He 
recognized  communion  with  God  as  the  highest 
aim  and  destiny  of  man.  This  union  with  the 
divine,  which  God  is  ready  to  grant  to  everyone 
coming  to  Him,  is  to  be  attained  chiefly  in  two 
ways — the  active  and  the  contemplative.  The 
former  consists  in  a  life  of  holy  obedience  after 
the  example  of  Christ.  ' '  Without  an  outwardly 
virtuous  life,"  he  says,  "we  cannot  draw  near  to 
God. ' '  *  But  in  this  life  of  obedience  we  are 
turned  chiefly  to  our  fellow-men.  In  contempla- 
tion, we  are  chiefly  turned  inward  toward  God  ; 
and  by  neglecting  what  is  material  and  temporal, 
we  retire  into  the  quietude  of  soul  in  which  God 
speaks  to  us  and  in  which  Ave  discern  Him.  The 
soul,  in  its  beatific  vision  of  the  divine,  rests  in 
perfect  love  and  trust  in  Him.  The  soul  and  God 
in  a  sense  become  one. 

But   this   iuAvard,   contemplative   life  did  not, 
as  in  the  case  of  many  other  mystics,  lead  Ruys- 

*  Ullmann's  "  Reformers  before  the  Reformation  "  (II.,  p.  41.),  which 
treats  quite  fully  of  the  mystics. 


68  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

broek  into  ascetic  retirement.  The  practical  side 
of  his  nature  was  not  entirely  submerged.  His 
eye  surveyed  the  condition  of  the  Church,  and  he 
had  the  courage  to  denounce  the  existing  evils  and 
to  labor  for  their  eradication.  He  reproved  the 
laity  for  their  avarice,  licentiousness,  and  love  of 
pleasure.  He  condemned  all  dishonesty  in  trade — 
lying,  false  weights,  l)ad  money — which  every- 
where abounded.  But  he  was  no  less  severe  to- 
ward the  representatives  of  the  Church.  ' '  Popes, 
princes,  and  prelates  themselves,"  he  said,  "  boAV 
the  knee  to  wealth,  and,  in  place  of  the  improve- 
ment and  correction  of  souls,  have  only  their  purse 
in  their  eye."  A  main  cause  of  this  corruption,  as 
seems  to  Ruysbroek,  lies  in  the  Church's  being  it- 
self accessible  to  wealth,  and  offering  its  gifts  for 
money.  "All  sijiritual  things  are  at  the  command 
of  the  rich.  For  them  chants  are  sung,  mass  read, 
every  external  service  the  Church  can  render  per- 
formed. They  obtain  without  dithculty  indul- 
gences for  the  pains  of  purgatory  and  all  manner 
of  sins,  and,  when  they  die,  requiems  are  sung  on 
every  side,  and  the  bells  tolled.  They  are  buried 
before  the  altar,  and  numbered  with  the  blessed."^ 
No  order  of  the  hierarchy — priests,  bishops,  Popes 
— escaped  his  condemnation  for  their  avarice  and 
profligacy. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  how  mysticism 
came  into  conscious  or  unconscious  conflict  Avith 
the  Roman  system  of  doctrine  and  practice.  While 
nearly  all  the  mystics  were  faithful  adherents  of 
the  Church,  their  fundamental  beliefs  were  directly 
opposed  to  its  teachings,  and  tended  to  undermine 
its  authority.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the  Papal 
system  makes  the  Church  an  external  despotism, 
and  religion  an  outward  conformity  to  its  laws. 

*  Ullmaun's  "  Reformers  before  the  Reformation,"  II.,  p.  51. 


THE    MYSTICS.  69 

It  is  a  vast  system  of  externalism.  But  the  mys- 
tic places  supreme  emphasis  on  the  subjective  life 
and  experience.  He  goes  back  of  priesthood  and 
sacrament  to  the  evangelical  principles  of  faith, 
love,  and  obedience.  He  believes  in  the  infinite 
depths  of  divine  love,  wliich  is  willing,  without  the 
mediation  of  priest  or  saint,  to  receive  every  yearn- 
ing, penitent  soul ;  and  he  recognizes  union  with 
God  in  sanctity  and  purpose  as  the  essential  ele- 
ment of  piety.  It  is  this  fellowship  with  the  di- 
vine, and  not  the  performance  of  ecclesiastical 
penances  and  works,  that  assures  eternal  life. 

Mere  outward  conformity  to  ecclesiastical  rites 
and  requirements  could  not  satisfy  the  mj'stic 
spirit.  It  sought  more  than  a  righteousness  of 
outward  works.  "  If  it  happen,"  says  Ruysbroek, 
' '  that  a  man  occupies  himself  in,  and  addicts 
himself  to,  the  several  kinds  of  works,  more  than 
to  their  substance  and  motives,  and  that  he  con- 
tinues exercising  himself  with  sacraments,  and 
signs,  and  i)erformances  of  an  outward  sort,  more 
than  with  the  objects  and  the  truth  which  are 
there])y  signified  and  conveyed,  it  is  very  possible 
that  he  may  to  a  certain  extent  undergo  a  change, 
])ecome  once  more  an  outward  man,  and,  with  all 
his  good  works,  still  be  in  captivity  to  silliness  and 
prejudice.  But  if  so  be  that  a  man  desires  to 
draw  near  to  God,  to  elevate  himself,  and  render' 
his  life  fruitful,  he  must  penetrate  from  the  work 
to  the  reason  of  it,  and  from  the  sign  to  the  truth. 
He  thereby  becomes  master  of  his  works,  a  pro- 
fessor of  the  truth,  and  enters  into  the  inner  life.^^ 

During  the  fourteenth  century  the  course  of 
mysticism  was  divided  into  two  branches,  which 
may  be  distinguished  as  the  meditative  and  the 
practical.  Both  agreed  in  seeking  a  more  spiritual 
type  of  Christianity.     One  of  the  principal  repre- 


70  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

sentatives  of  the  meditative  type  of  mysticism 
was  John  Tauler  (1290-1361),  one  of  the  great 
preachers  of  his  age.  He  had  a  good  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Scriptm'es,  as  well  as  with  the  scho- 
lastic learning  of  his  time.  A  visit  to  Ruysbroek 
confirmed  him  in  his  mystical  tendencies,  to  which 
his  meditative  temper  and  previous  studies  and 
associations  had  inclined  him.  Less  metaphysical 
than  Eckhart,  who  was  pantheistic,  and  less  poet- 
ical than  Suso,  who  was  fantastic,  he  reached  the 
popular  heart  through  the  depth  of  his  devotional 
feeling.  His  ideal  of  religious  life  was  complete 
conformity  to  the  image  of  our  Lord.  He  looked 
upon  man  as  an  emanation  from  God,  and  he 
found  man's  highest  destiny  in  a  return  to  Him. 
This  great  end  is  to  be  accomplished  by  resisting 
the  drawings  of  the  flesh  and  the  world,  and  by 
seeking  direct  communion  with  God  in  the  realm 
of  spirit.  In  this  exalted  communion  with  God, 
the  soul  should  find  its  highest  treasures,  and,  from 
the  altitude  of  this  blessed  experience,  look  down 
on  all  else  as  comparatively  worthless. 

This  subjective  and  spiritual  conception  of  Chris- 
tianity, presented  with  great  power  in  his  sermons, 
brought  him  into  conflict  with  the  existing  eccle- 
siastical system.  His  books  were  burned,  and  he 
himself  was  excommunicated.  But  he  wrote : 
'•'  None  who  hold  the  true  Christian  faith,  and  only 
sin  against  the  person  of  the  Pope,  are  heretics,  but 
those  are  heretics  who,  in  spite  of  remonstrance, 
obstinately  act  contrary  to  God' s  AA^ord  and  refuse 
to  amend."  He  rejected  the  claims  of  the  Pope 
to  universal  sovereignty.  ' '  Magistracy, ' '  he  main- 
tained, ' '  is  an  estate  instituted  by  God,  and,  in 
temporal  matters,  all  must  obey  it,  even  the 
clergy,  be  they  wlio  they  may.  The  emperor  is 
supreme   magistrate,    and    therefore  obedience  is 


THE   MYSTICS.  71 

due  to  him  before  all.  If  he  govern  wrong,  he  is 
responsible  to  God  for  his  conduct,  and  not  to 
poor  men."  *  Tauler's  sermons  were  not  without 
effect  upon  Luther.  ' '  If  it  will  gratify  j^ou 
to  become  acquainted  with  a  solid  theology  in 
the  German  tongue, ' '  wrote  Luther  to  his  friend 
Spalatin  in  1516,  "perfectly  resembling  tha{  of 
the  ancients,  procure  for  yourself  John  Tauler's 
sermons,  for  neither  in  Latin  nor  in  our  own  lan- 
guage have  I  seen  a  theology  more  sound,  or  more 
in  accordance  with  the  Gospel.  Taste  and  see 
how  gracious  is  the  Lord,  if  you  have  previously 
tasted  and  seen  how  bitter  is  all  that  we  are  in 
ourselves. ' ' 

All  that  was  best  in  mediaeval  mysticism  was 
at  length  summed  up  in  a  little  work  entitled 
"German  Theology."  It  was  for  a  time  attrib- 
uted to  Tauler,  but  the  author  is  unknown.  It 
"'sets  forth  a  living  God,  near  to  all,  present  and 
active  in  every  place,  but  most  intimately  present 
and  active  in  the  soul  of  man.  It  therefore  brings 
man  to  this  God,  in  a  relation  which  not  merely 
is  not  outward  or  mediated  by  the  priesthood  and 
Church,  works,  and  exercises,  but  which  is  in  the 
highest  degree  inward,  free,  and  childlike,  and 
vitally  exercises  the  affections.  In  the  same  man- 
ner, it  sets  forth  a  living  Christ — a  Christ  to  whom, 
as  the  Son  of  God  become  man  and  Saviour,  and 
as  the  prototype  and  pattern  of  divine  life  in  man, 
it  refers  everything  ;  and  who  in  that  respect  must 
be  embraced  not  merely  in  historical  objectivity, 
as  an  article  of  faith,  but  much  more  as  a  princi- 
ple of  life  ;  inasmuch  as  His  highest  and  full  sig- 
nificance lies  in  the  fact  that  He  perpetuates  and 
reproduces  Himself  anew  in  humanity,  and  that 

*  Ullmann's  "Reformers  before  the  Reformation,"  II.,  p.  212. 


72  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

His  spirit  and  theanthropic  life  are  transfused  into 
the  individual  and  impart  divinity  to  him. ' '  * 

At  the  suggestion  of  Stanpitz,  himself  a  mystic, 
Luther  edited  the  ' '  German  Theology. ' '  In  his 
preface,  written  in  1516,  the  reformer  says:  "  This 
excellent  little  work,  poor  and  homely  in  language 
and  human  wisdom  though  it  be,  is  in  the  same 
and  even  greater  proportion  rich  and  precious  in 
the  skill  and  divine  wisdom  Avith  which  it  is  writ- 
ten ;  and  to  boast  like  an  old  fool,  as  I  am,  next 
to  the  Bible  and  St.  Augustine,  from  no  l:>ook  with 
which  I  have  met  have  I  learned  more'  of  what 
God,  Christ,  man,  and  all  things  are."  Thus 
throughout  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  and 
dou]:)tless  also  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  the  the- 
ology of  the  mystics  was  producing  a  rich  spiritual 
fruitage,  and  by  emphasizing  the  subjective  char- 
acter of  the  Christian  life  was  gradually  under- 
mining the  formalism  of  the  Papal  system. 

But  we  turn  now  to  consider  the  practical  side 
of  the  mystic  movement  as  exemplified  in  the 
Brethren  of  the  Common  Life.  The  founder  of 
this  brotherhood  was  Gerhard  Groot  (1340-1384), 
a  man  of  great  elocjuence  and  spiritual  power. 
After  studying  at  the  University  of  Paris,  he 
entered  a  Carthusian  monastery,  where  he  gave 
himself  to  meditation  and  study  for  three  years. 
But  his  practical  nature  was  not  satisfied  with  a 
life  of  inactivity  ;  and  having  l^een  ordained  a 
deacon,  he  traveled  through  the  diocese  of  L^trecht, 
teaching  and  preaching.  He  was  moved  with 
ardent  zeal,  and  spoke  with  great  power.  As  was 
once  said  of  a  still  greater  teacher  and  preacher, 
the  common  people  heard  him  gladly,  and  many 
were  led  to  give   themselves  up  to  righteousness. 

*  Ullmann's  "Reformers  before  tlie  Reformation,"  II.,  p.  231. 


THE   MYSTICS.  73 

His  zealous  labors  presented  a  strong  contrast  with 
the  prevailing  idleness  and  inconsistency  of  the 
secular  and  regular  clergy.  His  denunciations  of 
their  corrupt  manners,  particularly  of  their  un- 
chastity,  were  unsparing.  As  a  result,  he  became 
the  object  of  persecution,  and  his  license  to  preach 
was  withdrawn. 

Groot  now  turned  to  the  instruction  of  youth. 
A  few  years  before,  he  had  visited  Ruysbroek  at 
Griinthal,  whose  simple  monastic  life  made  a  deep 
impression  on  him.  A  truly  fraternal  spirit 
reigned  in  the  monastery,  and  placed  all  the  in- 
mates on  the  same  level.  At  Deventer,  Groot 
founded  a  brotherhood,  the  members  of  which 
held  all  things  in  common.  While  living  under 
a  fixed  rule,  they  were  not  sequestered  from  so- 
ciet}',  as  were  regular  monks.  Nothing  was  done 
by  constraint  ;  the  motive  principle  was  the  love 
of  God.  The  main  object  of  the  brotherhood  was 
the  spread  of  practical  Christianity.  Its  members 
sought,  first  of  all,  to  maintain  among  themselves 
a  warm  and  genial  piety  through  religious  conver- 
sation, devotional  exercises,  and  the  study  of  the 
Scripture.  Outside  of  the  brotherhood  they  sought 
to  extend  Christianity  by  multiplying  and  circu- 
lating the  Scriptures.  Making  copies  of  the  Bible 
and  of  other  religious  books  was  a  prominent  jMrt 
of  their  work.  The  Psalms  were  translated  into 
the  common  tongue.  But,  above  all,  they  gave 
themselves  to  the  instruction  of  youth  ;  and  in 
the  history  of  education,  their  work  occupies  a 
]>lace  of  importance.  The  monastic  and  cathediTil 
schools  of  the  time  were  defective ;  the  toA\n 
schools  were  accessible  only  to  persons  of  consid- 
erable means.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
Brethren  of  the  Common  Life  gave  gratuitous 
instruction  to  every  class,  the  religious  element. 


/4  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

however,  being  given  the  first  place  in  tlie  course 
of  stud3\ 

"In  the  schools  of  the  brotherhood,"  says 
Johannes  Janssen,  an  able  Roman  Catholic  writer, 
' '  Christian  education  was  placed  high  above  the 
mere  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  the  practical 
rehgious  culture  of  the  youth,  the  nurture  and 
confirmation  of  active  piety,  was  considered  the 
chief  object.  All  the  instruction  was  penetrated 
1)}"  a  Christian  spirit,  and  the  pupil  learned  to 
regard  religion  as  the  most  important  human  in- 
terest and  the  foundation  of  all  true  culture.  At 
the  same  time  a  considerable  amount  of  knowl- 
edge and  a  good  method  of  stud}^  were  imparted, 
and  the  pupil  acquired  an  earnest  love  for  literary 
and  scientific  activity.  From  all  quarters  studious 
youth  poured  into  these  schools."  ^ 

During  the  fifteenth  century  the  houses  or  com- 
munities of  the  Brethren  of  the  Common  Life  were 
greatly  multiplied.  They  covered  the  Nether- 
lands and  northern  Germany,  and  were  highly 
esteemed,  not  only  by  wealthy  laj^men  but  by 
many  ecclesiastical  dignitaries.  Several  of  the 
Popes — Martin  V.,  Eugene  IV.,  and  Pius  II. — 
showed  them  favor.  After  the  beginning  of  tlie 
Reformation,  Luther  defended  them  ;  and  in  1532, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  abolish  their  houses,  he 
wrote  to  the  Mayor  and  Council  of  Herford  in 
AVestphalia  :  ' '  Inasmuch  as  the  brethren  and  sis- 
ters were  the  first  to  begin  the  Gospel  among  you, 
lead  a  creditable  life,  have  a  decent  and  well-be- 
haved congregation,  and  at  the  same  time  faith- 
fully to  teach  and  hold  the  pure  Word,  may  I  af- 
fectionately entreat  your  worships  not  to  permit 
any  dispeace  or  molestation  to  l^efall  them,  on  ac- 
count of  their  still  wearing  the  religious  dress,  and 

*  Janssen's  "  Geschicbte  des  deutschen  Volkes." 


THE   MYSTICS.  75 

observing  old  and  laudable  usages  not  contrary  to 
the  Gospel.  For  such  monasteries  and  brother- 
houses  please  nie  beyond  measure.  Would  to 
(rod  that  all  monastic  institutions  were  like 
them!" 

But  the  Brethen  of  the  Common  Life  did  not 
escape  persecution.  The  sincerity  of  their  spirit- 
ual life  and  their  zeal  in  the  propagation  of  an 
evangelical  religion  put  the  clergy  and  friars  to 
shame.  The  education  of  the  people  passed  largely 
into  the  hands  of  the  Brethren.  Accordingly,  find- 
ing their  intluence  and  emoluments  diminishing, 
the  priesthood  and  friars  were  roused  to  opposi- 
tion. In  some  cases  they  succeeded  in  having 
local  houses  of  the  brotherhood  suppressed.  At 
the  Council  of  Constance  they  made  an  effort  to 
have  the  organization  suppressed  altogether.  The 
Brethren,  so  the  bill  of  indictment  ran,  observe  the 
three  monastic  vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obe- 
dience, and  yet  they  do  not  belong  to  any  particu- 
lar order  or  religion  authorized  by  ecclesiastical 
law ;  therefore  they  have  no  valid  right  to  exist- 
ence, and  are  guilty  of  mortal  sin.  The  Brethren 
were  defended  by  the  celebrated  John  Gerson,  and 
the  venomous  attack  at  Constance  proved  entirelv 
futile. 

The  devotional  and  scientific  tendencies  of  the 
l)rotherhood  of  the  Common  Life  were  exhibited 
in  two  members,  who  stand  out  prominently  in 
the  annals  of  the  fifteenth  century.  One  of  these 
was  Thomas  a  Kempis,  the  author  of  the  ' '  Imita- 
tion of  Christ,"  in  which  the  mystical  yearning 
for  communion  with  Christ  is  so  strongly  and  so 
beautifully  expressed.  He  was  a  deep  student  of 
the  Bible,  the  perusal  of  which  he  repeatedly  com- 
mended to  others.  ' '  Woe, ' '  he  exclaims,  ' '  to  the 
clergyman  without  education  or  knowledge  of  the 


/b  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Scriptures,  for  he  often  becomes  the  occasion  of 
error,  both  to  himself  and  others  !  A  clergy- 
man without  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  a  soldier  with- 
out weapons,  a  horse  without  a  bridle,  a  ship 
without  a  rudder,  a  writer  without  a  pen,  and  a 
bird  without  wings.  And,  equally,  a  monastery 
which  wants  the  Scriptures  is  a  kitchen  without 
pots,  a  table  Avithout  dishes,  a  well  without  water, 
a  river  without  fish,  a  garden  without  flowers,  a 
purse  without  mone}^,  and  a  house  without  furni- 
ture." Though  Thomas  a  Kempis  remained  a 
faithful  son  of  the  Roman  Church,  his  teaching, 
unconsciously  perhaps  to  himself,  was  hostile  to 
the  existing  spirit  of  the  Papacy.  He  made  piety 
consist  in  a  personal  relation  to  God  in  self-sur- 
rendering love.  He  left  no  place  for  a  mediating 
priesthood  or  mechanically  efficacious  sacraments. 
Unlike  Thomas  a  Kempis,  who  loved  to  live  in 
devotional  retirement  with  his  books,  John  "\^"essel 
preserved,  along  with  deep  piety,  an  energetic  and 
practical  nature.  "The  true  philosopher,"  he 
said,  ' '  would  fain  remodel  all  kingdoms  and  na- 
tions, and  bring  them  into  a  better  and  more  pros- 
perous condition."  He  expostulated  with  his 
aged  friend,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  who  was  a  zealous 
adorer  of  Mary.  "Father,"  he  said,  "why  do 
you  not  rather  lead  me  to  Christ,  who  so  graciously 
invites  those  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  to 
come  to  Him  ? ' '  His  bold,  independent  spirit  at 
length  questioned  the  leading  princij^les  of  the 
Papal  system.  He  became  in  theology  a  Protes- 
tant. He  regarded  the  Scri]:>tures,  without  tradi- 
tion or  the  authoritative  interpretation  of  the 
Pope,  as  the  source  of  religious  doctrine.  He  was 
not  satisfied  with  an  intellectual  assent  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Church,  but  insisted  on  a  vital 
piety  of  the  heart  and  life.     He  rejected  the  ' '  good 


THE   MYSTICS.  77 

works"  taught  by  the  Roman  system,  and  a,s- 
sailed,  Hke  another  Luther,  the  doctrine  of  indul- 
gences. Beheving  in  the  Christian's  immediate 
access  to  God  through  Christ,  he  rejected  the  doc- 
trine of  a  mediating  priesthood  and  of  intercessory 
saints.  As  a  matter  of  prudence,  he  pubhshed 
nothing,  but  in  1521  Luther  printed  his  principal 
writings.  "  If  I  had  read  Wessel  sooner,"  the 
great  reformer  said,  ' '  my  adyersaries  would  haye 
presumed  to  say  that  I  had  borrowed  my  whole 
doctrine  from  him,  our  minds  are  so  consonant 
with  each  other.  "^^  In  Germany  Wessel  may  be 
regarded  as  the  most  prominent  precursor  of  the 
Reformation. 

•  John  Wessel  was  called  for  a  time  to  the  Uniyer- 
sity  of  Heidelberg,  where  his  liberal  yiews  were  not 
without  influence.  He  Avas  succeeded  by  one  of 
his  pupils,  Agricola,  who  perpetuated  his  critical 
and  independent  attitude  toward  the  Church  and 
its  errors.  John  Reuchlin,  a  still  more  famous 
pupil,  likewise  took  up  his  abode  for  a  time  at 
Heidelberg.  The  Uniyersity  thus  became  a  centre 
for  scientific  and  theological  inyestigation,  and  it 
is  remarkable  that  so  many  of  the  reformers — 
Melanchthon,  Martin  Bucer,  John  Brenz,  and 
others — receiyed  a  part  at  least  of  their  training 
there.  The  reforming  tendencies  of  the  fifteenth 
century  were  perpetuated  into  the  sixteenth,  w^hen 
the  conditions  were  far  more  fayorable  for  organized 
and  effectiye  resistance  to  the  errors  of  the  Papac}^ 

*  Ullmann's  "Reformers  before  the  Reformation,"  II.,  p.  579. 


CHAPTER   II. 

BIBLICAL    REFORMERS. 

In  the  case  of  the  mystics,  dissatisfaction  with 
the  Roman  system  grew  out  of  a  subjective  and 
spiritual  apprehension  of  Christianity.  The  poAver 
and  the  preciousness  of  the  Gospel  in  the  soul  were 
felt  to  be  more  or  less  discordant  with  the  external 
character  that  had  ])een  impressed  on  the  Church, 
and  with  the  worldliness  that  prevailed  in  every 
rank  of  the  clergy.  Alongside  of  this  mystical 
movement  or  reaction  there  was  another  reforma- 
tory tendency,  which  found  its  basis  and  power  in 
the  Scrij^tures.  This  tendency  was  wide-spread  ; 
it  had  its  representatives,  as  we  shall  see,  in  Eng- 
land, Bohemia,  Italy,  and  France.  Because  its 
adherents  were  active  in  their  opposition  to  exist- 
ing errors  and  evils  they  Avere  subject  to  persecu- 
tion from  the  hierarchy,  and  some  of  them  suffered 
a  martyr's  death. 

1.  One  of  the  earliest  and  greatest  of  these  biblical 
reformers  before  the  Reformation  was  John  Wyc- 
liffe,  of  England,  whose  active  life  embraces  the 
latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  condi- 
tions were  not  unfavorable  for  reformatory  efforts. 
It  was  the  period  of  the  Babylonish  captivity  of 
the  Papacy,  when  the  Popes  passed  under  the  in- 
fluence of  France  at  Avignon.  The  subserviency 
of  the  Papacy  at  this  time  to  the  French  mon- 
archy naturally  excited  distrust  and  opposition  in 
England.  Accordingly,  under  Edward  III.,  the 
(78) 


BIBLICAL    REFOKMEKS.  <  V) 

Statute  of  Provisorj^  devolved  upon  the  king  the 
right  to  fill  the  Church  offices,  and  the  Statute  of 
Prteniunire  forbade  subjects  to  bring  before  a  for- 
eign tribunal  a  cause  that  fell  under  royal  juris- 
diction. A  few  years  later  Parliament  refused  to 
pay  the  tribute  of  a  thousand  marks  demanded  b}' 
the  Pope  in  recognition  of  England' s  position  as  a 
Papal  fief  since  the  days  of  King  John.  Thus  the 
sentiment  of  patriotism  re-enforced  the  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  Papacy  awakened  by  the  worldliness 
and  profligacy  of  many  of  its  representatives. 

^V^ycliffe  was  a  man  of  great  intellectual  force, 
and  had  mastered  the  learning  of  his  age.  He 
resided  for  many  years  at  Oxford  as  master  of 
Balliol  College  and  teacher  of  divinity.  His  in- 
fluence in  the  University  was  for  a  time  very  great. 
He  had  a  firm  grasp  on  evangelical  truth  ;  and 
with  a  brave  and  independent  spirit  he  set  about 
correcting  the  evils  in  the  Church.  Like  Luther, 
he  possessed  a  genuine  martyr  spirit.  When  the 
mendicant  monks  were  clamorous  for  his  death, 
he  said  :  "I  know  from  the  evangelical  faith  that 
antichrist  with  his  blows  can  only  destroy  the 
body  ;  but  Christ,  for  whose  cause  I  fight,  can 
destl'oy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell.  And  I  know 
that  He  will  suffer  nothing  to  be  wanting  of  that 
which  is  most  needful  for  His  servants,  when  He 
has  freely  surrendered  Himself  to  a  terrible  death, 
and  permitted  all  the  disciples  who  were  dearest 
to  Him  to  endm-e  severe  torments  for  their  own 
benefit."* 

The  key  of  Wy cliff  e'  s  teachings  and  reformatory 
work  is  found  in  the  authority  he  assigns  to  the 
Scriptures.  He  recognized  the  Scriptures,  without 
the  aid  of  tradition  or  Papal  interpretation,  as  the 
ultimate  rule  of  faith  and  practice.     For  this  rea- 

*  Neauder's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  145. 


80  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

son  he  was  called  the  doctor  evangeUcus.  He  gave 
the  English  people  the  first  translation  of  the  Bible 
in  the  vernacular.  ' '  The  Holy  Scripture, ' '  he 
said,  ' '  is  the  faith  of  the  Church,  and  the  more 
familiar  the  people  become  with  it,  in  a  right  be- 
lieving sense,  the  better."  He  finds  fault  with 
the  clerg}^  for  withholding  the  Scriptures.  "As 
all  belicA^ers  must  stand  before  the  judgment  seat 
of  Christ  to  give  account  of  the  talents  committed 
to  them,  so  all  should  rightly  know  these  talents 
and  their  use,  in  order  that  they  may  know  how 
to  render  account  of  them  ;  for  then  no  answer 
which  might  be  given  through  a  prelate  or  steward 
could  be  of  any  avail,  but  each  must  answer  in 
his  own  person."  He,  maintained  that  the  New 
Testament  is  intelligible  to  the  laity  who  make  an 
lionest  effort  to  understand  it,  and  that  its  truth 
is  sufficient  for  the  salvation  of  a  Christian  Avith- 
out  the  ordinances  and  ceremonies  of  ignorant 
and  sinful  men. 

AVycliffe's  reformatory  activity  was  at  first 
politico-ecclesiastical.  He  defended  Edward  III. 
in  his  resistance  of  Papal  aggression.  He  de- 
nounced the  Pope  as  '  ^  the  most  cursed  of  clippers 
and  purse-kervers. "  The  large  amounts  paid  into 
the  Papal  treasury  would  be  better  expended,  he 
said,  if  given  for  "the  support  of  the  poor.  '  'And 
certainly, ' '  he  Avrote,  ' '  though  our  realm  had  a 
huge  hill  of  gold,  and  no  man  took  therefrom  but 
this  proud,  worldly  priest's  collector,  in  process 
of  time  the  hill  would  be  spent ;  for  he  is  ever 
taking  money  out  of  our  land,  and  sends  nothing 
back  but  God's  curse  for  his  simony,  and  some 
accursed  clerk  of  antichrist  to  rob  the  land  still 
more  for  wrongful  privileges." 

Wycliffe  maintained  that  no  political  and  tem- 
poral  rule  had  been  committed  to  the  Pope  in 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  81 

perpetuity  ;  that,  contrary  to  the  teaching  of  the 
mendicant  orders,  the  righteous  might  pro])erly 
hold  and  enjoy  earthly  possessions  ;  that  Avhen 
the  Church  fell  into  corruption  the  state  had  a 
right  to  deprive  her  of  the  temporal  goods  which 
she  abused  ;  that  every  prelate,  and  even  the 
Pope,  when  he  is  wrong,  might  be  accused, 
judged,  and  imprisoned  by  laymen  ;  that  only  a 
just  excommunication,  in  accordance  with  the 
law  of  Christ,  was  valid  ;  that  an  unconditional 
power  to  bind  and  loose  had  not  been,  and  could 
not  be,  conferred  on  any  man. 

These  doctrines,  actively  proclaimed,  did  not 
fail  to  provoke  resistance.  The  mendicant  orders 
collected  from  his  works  nineteen  propositions,  the 
substance  of  which  has  been  given,  and  forwarded 
them  to  Rome.  Gregory  XL,  in  1377,  issued 
three  l)ulls  against  Wycliffe — one  addressed  to  the 
University  of  Oxford,  another  to  the  bishops  of 
Canterljury  and  London,  and  the  third  to  King 
Edward  III. — in  which  he  commanded  that  the  re- 
former should  be  arrested  and  tried  for  heresy. 
Owing  to  Wy cliff e's  popularity,  this  order  could 
not  be  carried  out ;  and  when  he  was  summoned 
before  an  ecclesiastical  court  in  London,  he  was 
accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  and  the 
grand  marshal  of  England,  Lord  Henry  Percy. 
Through  the  protection  of  the  nobility,  this  trial, 
as  well  as  subsequent  ones,  came  to  nothing. 

After  1378,  Wycliffe's  reformatory  teachings 
covered  a  wide  field,  and  his  reformatory  measures 
were  comprehensive  and  vigorous.  Apart  from  his 
translation  of  the  Bible,  he  organized  an  evan- 
gelistic itinerancy  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
His  itinerants  were  known  as  the  "poor  priests," 
tmd  after  the  manner  of  the  apostles  traveled  from 
place  to  place  i)rea(;hing  the  A\^ord.  They  at- 
6 


82  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

tacked  the  prevalent  worldliness  and  vice  among 
the  different  orders  of  the  clergy,  and  exhorted 
their  hearers  to  repentance  and  piety.  Wycliffe's 
conception  of  the  clerical  office  was  truly  evan- 
gelical. ' '  If  thou  art  a  priest, ' '  he  says,  ' '  and 
by  name  a  curate,  live  thou  a  holy  life.  Pass 
other  men  in  holy  prayer,  holy  desire,  and  holy 
speaking  ;  in  counseling,  and  teaching  the  truth. 
Ever  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  let  His 
Gospel  and  His  j^raises  be  ever  in  thy  mouth.  Let 
thy  open  life  be  thus  a  true  book,  in  which  the 
soldier  and  the  layman  may  learn  how  to  serve 
God  and  keep  His  commandments.  For  the  ex- 
ample of  a  good  life,  if  it  be  open  and  continued, 
striketh  rude  men  much  more  than  open  preach- 
ing with  the  Word  alone." 

This  type  of  the  Christian  minister  was  unhke 
what  he  saw  about  him.  And  elsewhere  he  com- 
plains that  ' '  prelates  and  great  religious  posses- 
sioners  are  so  occupied  in  heart  about  worldly 
lordships  and  with  plans  of  business  that  no  habit 
of  devotion,  of  praying,  of  thoughtfulness  on 
heavenly  things,  on  the  sins  of  their  own  heart,  or 
on  those  of  other  men,  may  be  preserved  ;  neither 
may  they  be  found  studying  and  preaching  the 
Gospel,  nor  visiting  and  comforting  poor  men." 
Through  his  own  preaching,  which  was  of  a  vig- 
orous, practical  kind,  through  the  labors  of  his 
itinerants,  and  through  his  numerous  writings,  the 
doctrines  of  Wycliffe  became  Avidely  disseminated 
in  England. 

Accepting  the  Scriptures  as  the  sole  standard  of 
authority,  Wycliffe,  like  the  reformers  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  rejected  nearly  every  distinctive 
doctrine  of  the  Papal  Church.  He  was  unwilling 
to  receive  any  doctrine  on  mere  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority.     ' '  Even    though   there  were  a   hundred 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  83 

Popes,"  he  declared,  '•and  all  the  monks  were 
transformed  into  cardinals,  in  matters  of  faith  their 
opinions  would  be  of  no  account,  unless  they  were 
founded  on  Scripture."  His  concej^tion  of  the 
Church  w^as  not  that  of  an  external  organization 
with  a  supreme  pontiff  at  its  head,  but  that  of  a 
communion  of  saints — the  unorganized  body  com- 
posed of  all  the  believers.  He  rejected  the  doc- 
trine of  ecclesiastical  good  works.  ' '  Many  think, ' ' 
he  says,  ' '  if  they  give  a  penny  to  a  pardoner,  they 
shall  be  forgiven  the  breaking  of  all  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  therefore  they  take  no  heed 
how  they  keep  them.  But  I  say  to  thee,  for  cer- 
tain, though  thou  have  priests  and  friars  to  sing 
for  thee,  and  though  thou  each  day  hear  many 
masses,  and  found  chauntries  and  colleges,  and  go 
on  pilgrimages  all  thy  life,  and  give  all  thy  goods 
to  pardoners — all  this  shall  not  bring  thy  soul  to 
heaven.  While,  if  the  commandments  of  God  are 
revered  to  the  end,  though  neither  penny  nor  half- 
penny be  possessed,  there  shall  l:>e  everlasting  par- 
don and  the  bliss  of  heaven."  He  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  works  of  supererogation,  and  with  it  the 
doctrine  of  indulgences  resting  upon  it.  He  op- 
posed the  worship  of  saints,  first,  because  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell  with  certainty  who  are  to  be  ranked 
as  such  ;  and,  secondly,  because  it  derogates  from 
the  Avork  and  honor  of  Christ.  ' '  For  Christ, ' '  he 
says,  ' '  ever  lives  near  the  Father,  and  is  the  most 
ready  to  intercede  for  us,  imparting  Himself  to  the 
soul  of  every  wayfaring  pilgrim  Avho  loves  Him. 
Therefore  should  no  man  seek  first  the  mediation 
of  other  saints,  for  He  is  more  ready  to  help  than 
any  one  of  them." 

But  no  part  of  ^^'ycliffe's  theology  Avas  more 
Avide-reaching  in  its  immediate  effects  and  excited 
more  bitter  hostility  than  his  rejection  of  the  doc- 


84  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

trine  of  transul^stantiation.  His  arguments  against 
this  Papal  doctrine  were  based  on  Scripture  and 
reason.  He  dwelt  on  the  philosophical  absurdity 
that  the  qualities  of  the  elements — shape,  odor, 
color — should  continue  after  the  annihilation  of 
the  ol)ject  or  substance — ])read  and  wine — in  which 
they  inhere.  ' '  It  cannot  be  proved  by  reason  or 
Scripture, ' '  he  argued,  ' '  that  such  an  illusion  is 
necessary  for  men  as  an  accidens  sine  subjecto,  when 
bread  and  wine  remaining  would  in  a  more  suit- 
able way  represent  the  l^od}^  of  Christ. ' '  The  re- 
jection of  this  doctrine  took  away  from  the  Papal 
priesthood  its  highest  function,  abolished  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  mass  for  the  living  and  the  dead,  and 
freed  the  Church  from  all  the  abuses  and  super- 
stitions connected  with  it.  He  disseminated  his 
views  among  all  classes  of  people  ;  for  the  learned 
he  wrote  treatises  in  Latin,  and  for  the  commonalty 
he  prepared  pamphlets  in  English. 

In  spite  of  the  malice  and  efforts  of  his  enemies, 
Wy cliff e  died  a  natural  death  in  1384.  But  his 
body  was  not  to  be  left  in  peace.  In  1415  the 
Council  of  Constance  declared  him  a  heretic,  anath- 
ematized his  writings,  and  ordered  his  bones  to  be 
removed  from  consecrated  ground.  For  a  number 
of  years  the  command  went  unheeded  ;  but  in 
1438  his  body  was  taken  up  and  burnt,  and  the 
ashes  scattered  on  the  S^vift,  a  tributary  of  the 
Avon.  But  the  truths  proclaimed  by  the  fearless 
reformer  were  not  thus  to  be  extinguished.  In  the 
lines  of  Wordsworth  : 

''As  thou  these  ashes,  little  brook,  wilt  bear 
Into  the  Avon,  Avon  to  the  tide 

Of  Severn,  Severn  to  the  narrow  seas, 
Into  the  main  ocean  they,  this  deed  accurst 

An  emblem  yields  to  friends  and  enemies. 
How  the  bold  teacher's  doctrine,  sanctified 
By  truth,  shall  spread  throughout  the  world  dispereed." 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  bO 

Wyclift'e  had  the  grcnitest  confidence  that  sooner 
or  later  the  truth  of  the  vScriptures  would  prevail. 
He  was  confident  that  the  hierarchy  would  not 
always  be  able  to  stifle  the  Gospel.  In  his 
writings  there  is  found  a  remarkable  prophecy  of 
Luther's  reforming  work.  "  I  suppose,"  he  says, 
' '  that  some  brothers,  whom  God  may  vouchsafe 
to  teach,  will  be  devoutly  converted  to  the  primi- 
tive religion  of  Christ,  and  abandoning  their  false 
interpretations  of  genuine  Christianity,  after  hav- 
ing demanded  or  acquired  for  themselves  per- 
mission from  antichrist,  will  freely  return  to  the 
original  religion  of  Christ ;  and  then  tliey  will 
build  up  the  Church  like  Paul." 

The  followers  of  WyclifTe  in  England,  of  whom 
there  were  large  numbers,  were  stigmatized  as  Lol- 
lards, a  name  of  uncertain  origin.  The  doctrines 
of  the  reformer  were  industriously  propagated  by 
enthusiastic  itinerant  preachers.  They  ' '  were 
picturesque  figures  in  long  russet  dress  down  to 
the  heels,  who,  staff  in  hand,  preached  in  the 
mother-tongue  to  the  people  in  churches  and 
graveyards,  in  squares,  streets,  and  houses,  in 
gardens  and  pleasure  grounds,  and  then  talked 
privately  with  those  who  had  ])een  impressed. ' ' 
But  about  the  year  1400  the  Church  and  State 
combined  to  suppress  the  reformatory  movement. 
Arundel,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  was  very 
active  in  the  persecution  that  ensued.  In  1408  he 
secured  the  passage  of  an  ecclesiastical  law  which 
forbade  anyone  to  preach  without  a  bishop's 
license,  prohibited  all  preaching  against  the  clergy 
before  a  congregation  of  laymen,  and  required  all 
Lollard  books  and  translations  of  the  Bible  to  be 
delivered  up  and  ]>urned.  Nothing  contrary  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  was  anywhere  to  be 
taught,    and   the    translation   of   any   portion   of 


86  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Scripture  into  English  was  forbidden.  The  Par- 
hament,  under  clerical  influence,  passed  an  enact- 
ment ' '  that  whatsoever  the}^  were  who  should  read 
the  Scriptures  in  the  mother-tongue,  they  should 
forfeit  land,  cattle,  body,  life,  and  goods  from 
their  heirs  forever  ;  and  so  be  condemned  for  here- 
tics to  God,  enemies  to  the  Crown,  and  most  ar- 
rant traitors  to  the  land."  But  the  truth  was  not 
without  its  martyrs,  among  Avhom  was  Sir  John 
Oldcastle,  the  friend  of  Henry  V. ,  who  was  burned 
at  the  stake  in  1417.  The  Lollard  movement  was 
checked,  but  not  annihilated  ;  and  its  traditions, 
including  Wycliff e'  s  translation  of  the  Bible,  lived 
on  till  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

2.  But  the  greatest  influence  of  Wycliffe,  after  the 
suppression  of  Lollardy  in  England,  was  to  be  ex- 
erted in  Bohemia.  His  doctrines  were  conveyed 
to  the  University  of  Prague,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifteenth  century  one  of  the  most  influential  in 
Europe,  by  Oxford  students.  His  works  became 
well  known  in  the  Bohemian  capital,  where  they 
found  warm  adherents  and  defenders.  The  most 
influential  of  his  disciples  was  John  Huss,  who, 
through  the  earnest  preaching  of  Mihtz,  Conrad, 
of  Waldhausen,  and  especially  Matthias,  of  Janow, 
had  been  turned  toward  an  evangelical  conception 
of  Christianity.  With  less  intellectual  force  but 
with  no  less  earnest  purpose,  he  embraced  the 
fundamental  teachings  of  Wychffe.  He  made  the 
Scriptures  the  ultimate  rule  of  authority  in  relig- 
ious l^elief  and  practice,  though  he  did  not  apply 
it,  in  its  whole  extent,  to  the  Papal  sj^stem.  Thus 
it  happened  that  he  adhered  to  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  and  of  the  seven  sacraments. 
' '  I  am  attracted  by  his  writings, ' '  Huss  says  in 
speaking  of  the  English  reformer,  ' '  in  which  he 
expends  every  effort  to  conduct  all  men  back  to  the 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  87 

law  of  Christ,  and  especially  the  clergy,  inviting 
them  to  let  go  the  pomp  and  dominion  of  the 
world,  and  live  with  the  apostles  according  to  the 
life  of  Christ.  I  am  attracted  by  the  love  wdiich 
he  had  for  the  law  of  Christ,  maintaining  its  truth 
and  holding  that  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  it  could 
fail."  ^ 

Huss  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Prague, 
in  which  he  became  a  lecturer  in  1398.  He  grew 
in  popularit}^,  and  four  years  later  he  was  made 
rector.  He  was  a  diligent  student  of  Wycliffe's 
Avri tings.  The  year  of  his  election  as  rector  of  the 
University,  he  became  pastor  of  the  Bethlehem 
Chapel^  which  a  pious  citizen  of  Prague  had  en- 
dowed for  the  maintenance  of  practical  preaching. 
His  earnestness,  spiritual  power,  and  fearless  de- 
nunciation of  sin  among  clergy  and  laity  drew 
about  him  a  large  circle  of  adherents.  His 
conception  of  preaching  was  evangelical.  ' '  This 
must  ever  be  the  great  and  especial  concern  of  the 
ministers  of  the  Church, ' '  he  wrote,  ' '  to  preach  to 
the  people  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  its  purity  and 
with  fruit,  so  that  the  people  may  know  God's 
will,  avoid  the  bad,  and  be  led  in  the  good  way  of 
a  just  and  virtuous  life.  Woe,  therefore,  to  the 
priests  who  neglect  God's  Word,  who  lead  lives  of 
indolent  repose  when  they  might  be  preaching  it. 
And  woe  to  those  who  hinder  the  preaching  and 
the  hearing  of  the  divine  Word.  But  ])lessed  are 
they  who  hear  it  and  treasure  it  up  in  their  hearts, 
and  by  good  works  observe  it." 

For  a  time  Huss  stood  in  favor  with  the  eccle- 
siastical authorities  ;  and  in  1403  he  was  appointed 
by  the  Archbishop  Zl^ynek  on  a  commission  to  re- 
port on  a  reputed  miracle  at  Wilsnack.  According 
to  popular  belief,  three  sacramental  wafers  had 

*  Neander's  "History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  242. 


88  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

turned  red  with  the  blood  of  our  Lord.  The 
church  at  Wilsnack  became  a  place  of  pilgrimages 
from  all  parts  of  Europe.  The  report  of  Huss  was 
unfavorable  to  the  superstition,  and  pilgrimages 
from  the  Archbishop's  diocese  were  prohibited. 
On  this  occasion  IIuss  wrote  a  tract,  in  which, 
while  he  held  in  transubstantiation,  he  attacked 
the  superstition  and  fraud  connected  with  it. 
' '  The  glorified  body  of  Christ, ' '  he  says,  ' '  exists 
dimensionally  in  Heaven  alone,  though  truly  and 
really  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar.  Nothing  that 
belonged  to  this  body  could  be  separated  from  it 
and  present  by  itself  alone  upon  earth.  All  that 
is  said,  therefore,  about  relics  of  Christ's  body,  or 
of  His  ):>lood,  as  l)eing  present  in  this  place  or  that, 
must  be  false.  He  who  pretends  to  believe  any- 
thing of  this  sort  dishonors  the  blood  of  Christ. 
But,  also,  the  iniquity  of  greedy  ecclesiastics  has 
increased  to  such  extent  that  messengers  of  anti- 
christ, following  their  master,  the  devil,  have  ex- 
hibited their  own  blood  as  the  blood  of  Christ,  at 
the  Eucharist,  and  the  same  is  adored  by  foolish 
and  unbelieving  Christians,  who,  unbelievingl}^, 
seek  after  wonders." 

But  a  conflict  Avith  the  hierarchy  was  only  a 
question  of  time.  Huss's  zealous  appeals  for  re- 
form, and  especially  the  authoritative  eminence  he 
assigned  to  the  Scriptures,  were  inconsistent  with 
the  existing  immorality  of  the  clergy  and  the 
ecclesiastical  absolutism  of  the  Pope.  Four  prin- 
cipal points  may  be  noted  in  the  reformatory 
movement  he  inaugurated — points  that  are  prac- 
tical rather  than  doctrinal  :  1.  To  luring  the  people 
together  in  harmony  under  the  law  of  Christ ;  2. 
To  abolish  anti-Christian  ordinances,  by  which  the 
people  were  deluded  ;  3.  To  require  the  clergy, 
banishing  pomp,    cupidity,    and   luxury,    to   live 


BIBLICAL    REFORMEHS.  89 

pure  and  honest,  according  to  the  Gospel  ;  and  4. 
To  regard  the  niiUtant  Church  as  consisting  of  the 
orders  instituted  by  our  Lord  ;  namely,  priests 
faithfully  fultilling  the  law,  secular  nobles  govern- 
ing the  people  in  righteousness,  and  the  lower 
classes  serving  both  orders  according  to  the  law  of 
Christ.  His  view  of  the  Church,  like  that  of 
Wycliffe,  makes  it  consist  essentially  of  the  body 
of  the  elect.  He  does  not  look  upon  it  as  a  visible 
organization  with  the  Pope  as  head.  He  regards 
the  Pope,  whom  he  sometimes  characterizes  as 
antichrist,  as  a  hindrance.  "It  is  evident, ' '  he 
affirms,  ' '  that  the  greatest  errors  and  the  greatest 
divisions  have  arisen  by  occasion  of  this  head  of 
the  Church,  and  that  they  have  gone  on  multiply- 
ing to  this  day.  For  before  such  a  head  had  been 
instituted  by  the  emperor,  the  Church  was  con- 
stantl}^  adding  to  her  virtues  ;  but  after  the  ap- 
pointment of  such  a  head,  the  evils  have  contin- 
ually mounted  higher  ;  and  there  will  be  no  end 
to  all  this,  until  this  head,  with  its  body,  be 
brought  back  to  the  rule  of  the  apostles." 

In  1408  Huss  was  forbidden  to  exercise  any 
priestly  function  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Prague.  A  bull  of  Alexander  V. , 
in  1409,  ordered  the  abjuration  of  all  Wychffite 
heresies,  and  a  general  prohibition  of  preaching. 
Three  years  later,  when  Huss  opposed  a  Papal 
crusade  against  the  King  of  Naples,  and  de- 
nounced the  indulgences  promised  to  all  who 
should  participate  in  it,  he  was  excommunicated 
and  banished  from  the  city.  Though  an  interdict 
was  laid  on  all  places  that  should  give  him  shelter, 
he  continued,  as  he  had  opportunity,  his  open-air 
preaching,  and  employed  his  leisure  in  writing  his 
princi})al  work,  De  Ecdesia. 

This  ecclesiastical  persecution  brought  to  light 


90  THE    REP^ORMATION    DAWN. 

the  character  of  Huss.  He  was  a  conscientious, 
heroic  spirit.  Life  was  less  dear  to  him  than  the 
truth  of  Christ.  He  held  himself  ready  at  all 
times  to  yield  to  clear  reason  or*  Holy  Scripture, 
but  not  to  arbitrary  authority.  ' '  I  avow  it  to  be 
my  purpose, ' '  he  said,  ' '  to  defend  the  truth  which 
God  has  enabled  me  to  know,  and  esi^ecially  the 
truth  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  even  to  death  ;  since 
I  know  that  the  truth  stands,  and  is  forever  mighty, 
and  abides  eternally  ;  and  with  her  there  is  no 
respect  of  persons.  And,  if  the  fear  of  death 
should  terrify  me,  still  I  hope  in  my  God,  and  in 
the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  the  Lord 
Himself  will  give  me  firmness.  And  if  I  have 
found  favor  in  His  sight.  He  will  crow^n  me  with 
martyrdom. ' ' 

Huss  stood,  like  Luther,  for  the  principle  of 
individual  liberty,  as  over  against  ecclesiastical 
authority.  This  was,  indeed,  his  great  heresy. 
When  a  Paj^al  legate  demanded  of  him  whether 
he  would  obey  the  apostolical  mandates,  he  re- 
plied :  "I  am  ready,  with  all  my  heart,  to  fulfill 
the  apostolical  mandates  ;  but  I  call  apostolical 
mandates  the  doctrines  of  the  apostles  of  Christ ; 
and  so  far  as  the  Papal  mandates  agree  with  these, 
so  far  I  will  obey  them  most  willingly.  But,  if  I 
see  anything  in  them  at  variance  with  these,  I  shall 
not  obey,  even  though  the  stake  were  staring  me 
in  the  face. ' '  He  refused  to  give  up  preaching  at 
the  command  of  the  Pope,  because  he  recognized 
his  call  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word  as  coming 
from  God.  He  felt,  as  did  the  apostles  under  sim- 
ilar circumstances,  that  it  is  better  to  obey  God 
than  man. 

The  great  Council  of  Constance  assembled  in 
1414  for  the  purpose  of  healing  the  distractions 
of  the  Church.     Huss  was  invited  to  appear  be- 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  91 

fore  it ;  and  to  protect  him  from  the  treax^liery  of 
his  enemies,  he  was  granted  a  safe-conduct  by  the 
Emperor  Sigismund.  He  was  anxious  for  an  op- 
portunity to  explain  his  doctrines  and  to  defend 
them  before  the  Council.  But  this  privilege  was 
long  denied  him.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  in 
Constance  he  was  seized,  in  violation  of  the  em- 
peror's safe-conduct,  and  thrown  into  a  noisome 
prison.  In  June,  1415,  he  was  brought  before 
the  Council,  and  professed  his  readiness  to  retract 
every  statement  of  his  writings  that  could  be 
shown  to  be  erroneous.  But  the  Council  de- 
manded submission  rather  than  argument ;  and 
after  several  hearings,  when  his  voice  was  fre- 
quently drowned  by  hostile  outcries,  he  was  con- 
demned to  be  burnt  at  the  stake.  The  principal 
articles  in  his  condemnation  were  as  follows  : 
''1.  The  Church  consists  of  those  who  are  j^re- 
destined  to  eternal  life  ;  2.  The  head  of  the  Church 
is  Christ  alone  ;  the  militant  Church  does  not  need 
a  visible  head,  nor  can  it  be  shown  that  Christ 
ordained  one  ;  3.  The  Papacy  owed  its  origin  to 
imperial  favor  and  power  ;  4.  Ecclesiastical  obedi- 
ence is  an  invention  of  the  priesthood  and  a  con- 
tradiction of  Holy  Scripture  ;  5.  A  priest,  when 
he  is  not  conscious  of  a  fault,  should  not  cease  to 
preach,  even  though  the  Pope  forbid  him  ;  6.  The 
Holy  Scriptures  are  the  only  source  and  rule  of 
Christian  hfe."  ^ 

Huss  bore  his  condemnation  and  martyrdom 
with  a  heroic,  Christian  spirit.  When,  in  degrad- 
ing him  from  the  priesthood,  the  bishops  said, 
''Now  we  give  over  thy  soul  to  the  devil,"  he, 
raising  his  eyes  to  Heaven,  replied,  ' '  But  I  com- 
mend into  Thy  hands,  Lord  Jesus,  my  soul  re- 
deemed by  Thee."     Before  being  chained  to  the 

*  Alzog's  "  Universal  Kirchengeschichte,"  II.,  p.  205. 


92  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Stake  he  knelt  and  prayed  :  ' '  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
stand  by  me,  that  by  Thy  help  I  may  be  enabled, 
with  a  strong  and  steadfast  soul,  to  endure  this 
cruel  and  shameful  death,  to  which  I  have  been 
condemned  on  account  of  the  preaching  of  the 
holy  Gospel  and  Thy  Word."  Before  the  faggots 
were  lighted.  Von  Pappenheim,  the  marshal  of 
the  empire,  rode  up  and  called  upon  him  once 
more  to  recant.  ' '  What  error  should  I  recant, ' ' 
he  replied,  ' '  when  I  am  conscious  of  no  error  ? 
The  chief  aim  of  my  preaching  was  to  teach  men 
repentance  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins  according 
to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
expositions  of  the  holy  fathers  ;  therefore  am  I 
prepared  to  die  with  a  joyful  soul. ' '  With  the 
words,  ' '  Jesus,  Son  of  the  living  God,  have  mercy 
upon  me, ' '  upon  his  lips,  his  spirit  took  its  flight. 
His  ashes  Avere  scattered  upon  the  Rhine. 

A  few  months  afterward  there  followed  another 
martyrdom  on  the  same  spot.  It  was  that  of 
Jerome,  of  Prague,  the  friend  and  fellow-reformer 
of  Huss.  He  had  defended  the  doctrines  of 
Wycliffe  in  Paris,  Vienna,  and  other  cities  of 
Europe,  and  had  thereby  excited  the  distrust  and 
enmity  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.  He  went 
to  Constance  incognito  ;  but,  finding  it  dangerous 
to  remain  there,  and  being  unable  to  secure  a  safe- 
conduct,  he  started  to  Bohemia.  He  was  arrested 
on  the  way  by  his  enemies,  and  cited  to  appear 
before  the  Council  to  defend  his  teachings.  Like 
Huss,  he  held  himself  ready  to  recant  so  soon  as 
he  was  convicted  of  error  from  Holy  Scripture. 
While  he  spoke  there  was  heard  among  the  noisy 
shouts,  "  Jerome  must  be  burnt."  He  was  sub- 
jected to  a  cruel  imprisonment  for  nearly  a  year. 
At  his  final  trial  he  defended  himself  with  so 
much  eloquence  that  he  excited  the  admiration 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  93 

even  of  his  enemies.  But  refusing  to  recant  what 
he  held  as  truth,  he  was  condemned  to  the  stake. 
When  the  fire  flamed  around  him  he  exclaimed  in 
a  loud  voice,  "  Into  Thy  hands,  0  God,  I  commit 
my  spirit. ' '  In  the  words  of  an  eye-witness,  ' '  He 
feared  neither  death  nor  the  fire  and  its  torture. 
No  stoic  ever  suffered  death  with  so  firm  a  soul  as 
that  with  which  he  seemed  to  demand  it.  Jerome 
endured  the  torments  of  the  fire  with  more  tran- 
quillity than  Socrates  displayed  in  drinking  his 
cup  of  hemlock."  * 

But  the  truth  Avas  not  to  be  destroyed  by  tjie . 
burning  of  these  two  faithful  preachers.  The  news 
of  their  martyrdom  produced  great  excitement  in 
Bohemia  ;  and  soon,  at  a  diet  in  Prague,  a  protest, 
signed  by  four  hundred  and  fifty-two  magnates 
and  barons,  defended  the  character  of  Huss  as  a 
man  and  evangelical  teacher.  A  few  days  later,  the 
nobles  who  had  signed  the  protest  formed  them- 
selves into  a  league  to  defend  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  in  their  estates,  and  to  obey  the  bishoi3s 
and  Pope  only  so  far  as  they  might  be  in  agreement 
with  the  Scriptures.  War  was  the  result.  In 
1418  the  new  Pope,  Martin  V.,  issued  various  bulls 
in  which  he  placed  all  obstinate  Hussites  under 
the  ])an,  and  urged  all  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
authorities  to  proceed  against  them.  The  em- 
l^eror,  Sigismund,  invaded  Bohemia,  but  his  armies 
were  successively  defeated  in  three  great  battles. 
The  failure  of  the  crusade  inclined  the  Papal  party 
to  peace.  The  demands  of  the  more  moderate 
])art  of  the  Hussites  were  embodied  in  the  famous 
four  articles  of  Prague  :  1.  Free  preaching  of  the 
Word  of  God  throughout  Bohemia  ;  2.  The  admin- 
istration of  the  communion  under  both  kinds,  ac- 
cording to  the  institution  of  Christ ;  3.  Deprivation 

*  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  380. 


94  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

of  the  clergy  of  secular  lordship  and  of  secular 
property  ;  and  4.  Repression  of  all  public  scan- 
dals. Negotiations  with  the  Council  of  Basel 
ended  in  1433  with  the  signing  of  the  ' '  Com- 
pactata,"  in  which  the  demands  of  the  Hussites 
were  more  or  less  fully  conceded.  The  Hussites 
maintained  their  existence  into  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tur}^,  when  some  of  them  returned  to  the  Roman 
Church,  while  others  allied  themselves  with  the 
Protestant  movement,  and  have  perpetuated  their 
existence  to  the  present  day  as  Moravians  or 
United  Brethren. 

3.  While  a  refined  paganism  characterized  the 
social  and  ecclesiastical  life  of  Italy,  a  prophetic 
voice  was  heard  at  Florence.  Savonarola  spoke 
and  labored  in  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  jDrophets, 
whose  writings  were  his  study  and  delight. 
Though  his  career  was  not  free  from  a  fanatical 
element,  the  sincerity  of  his  pur23ose  can  hardly  be 
questioned,  and  the  reform  he  effected  for  a  time 
in  the  dissolute  ' '  City  of  Flowers ' '  is  truly  re- 
markable. A  political  element  is  found  in  his 
work  ;  but  in  all  that  he  undertook  he  was  ani- 
mated by  a  devout  Christian  spirit. 

The  reformation  he  tried  to  effect  was  one  of 
morals  rather  than  of  doctrine.  But  the  basis  of 
his  teaching  was  the  Scriptures.  "Amid  the  lux- 
urious, aesthetic,  semi-j^agan  life  of  Florence,"  to 
use  the  words  of  Hill  in  his  Introduction  to 
Savonarola's  "Triumph  of  the  Cross,"  "in  the 
ears  of  the  rich  citizens,  the  licentious  youth,  the 
learned  Platonists,  he  denounced  the  revival  of 
paganism,  the  corruption  of  the  Church,  the  igno- 
rance and  consequent  slavery  of  the  people,  and 
declared  that  God  would  visit  Italy  with  some  ter- 
rible punishment,  and  that  it  would  come  soon. 
He  spoke  severe  words  about  the  priests,  declared 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  95 

to  the  people  that  the  Scriptures  were  the  only 
guides  to  salvation  ;  that  salvation  did  not  come 
from  external  works,  as  the  Church  taught,  but 
from  faith  in  Christ,  from  giving  up  the  heart  to 
Him;  and  if  He  forgave  sin,  there  was  no  need  for 
any  other  absolution." 

In  his  youth  Savonarola  was  of  a  studious,  med- 
itative temperament.  He  found  social  festivities 
vain  and  repulsive  ;  and,  though  brought  up  in 
fashional)le  surroundings,  he  felt  a  contempt  for 
the  pomp  and  splendor  of  court  life.  He  aban- 
doned the  medical  career,  which  his  father  wished 
him  to  pursue,  to  devote  himself  to  a  religious 
life.  His  daily  prayer  was,  "  Lord,  teach  me  the 
way  my  soul  should  walk."  In  1475  he  entered 
the  Dominican  monastery  at  Bologna,  where  he 
passed  the  next  six  years.  "The  motive,"  he 
wrote  to  his  father,  ' '  which  determines  me  to  enter 
into  a  religious  life  is  this  :  The  great  misery  of  the 
Avorld,  the  misery  of  man ;  the  rapes,  the  adulteries, 
the  roiiberies,  the  pride,  the  idolatry,  the  monstrous 
blasphemies  by  which  the  world  is  polluted,  for 
there  is  7ione  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one^  His 
writings  at  this  period,  particularly  his  poems, 
show  a  strong  sense  of  the  worldliness  and  wicked- 
ness prevailing  about  him  in  Church  and  State. 

In  1490,  during  the  reign  of  Lorenzo  the  Mag- 
nificent, he  was  transferred  to  the  Dominican  mon- 
astery at  Florence.  He  had  won  renown  as  an  el- 
oquent preacher ;  and  when  the  cloister  garden 
became  too  small  for  the  crowds  that  thronged  to 
hear  him,  he  spoke  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Mark. 
' '  Your  sins, ' '  he  declared  to  the  people,  ' '  make 
me  a  prophet. ' '  He  spoke  as  one  inspired  ;  and 
several  of  his  predictions  having  been  fulfilled,  he 
acquired  great  authority  with  the  people.  Lorenzo 
was  anxious  to  conciliate  his  favor  ;  and  at  his 


96  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

suggestion  a  commission  of  five  distinguished  men 
waited  on  Savonarola  to  beg  him  to  be  less  i)erso- 
nal  in  his  denunciations  of  vice,  and  to  deal  more 
in  generalities.  ' '  Go  tell  your  master,  Lorenzo. ' ' 
the  dauntless  preacher  replied,  ' '  to  repent  of  his 
sins,  or  God  will  punish  liini  and  his.  Does  he 
threaten  me  with  banishment  ?  Well,  I  am  but  a 
stranger,  and  he  is  the  first  citizen  of  Florence ; 
V)ut  let  him  know  that  I  shall  remain,  and  he  must 
soon  depart. ' '  The  fulfillment  of  this  fearless  pre- 
diction a  short  time  afterward  enhanced  his  repu- 
tation and  infiuence  with  the  populace. 

After  the  overthrow  of  the  Medici  house,  the 
city  of  Florence  turned  to  Savonarola  as  its  law- 
giver. Through  his  influence,  a  popular  form  of 
government  was  adopted,  the  principal  features  of 
Avhich  were  as  follows  :  1.  The  fear  of  God  and 
the  purification  of  manners  ;  2.  The  promotion  of 
the  public  welfare  in  preference  to  that  of  private 
persons  ;  3.  A  general  amnesty  to  political  offend- 
ers ;  and  4.  A  council  on  the  Venetian  model,  but 
with  no  doge.  ' '  Pleasure-loving  Florence, ' '  says 
Madame  Villari,  "  was  completely  changed.  Ab- 
juring pomp  and  vanities,  its  citizens  observed  the 
ascetic  regime  of  the  cloister  ;  half  the  year  was 
devoted  to  abstinence,  and  few  dared  to  eat  meat 
on  the  fasts  ordained  by  Savonarola.  Hymns  and 
lauds  rang  in  the  streets  that  had  so  recently  eclioed 
with  Lorenzo's  dissolute  songs.  Both  sexes  dressed 
with  Puritan  plainness  ;  husl:>ands  and  wives 
quitted  their  homes  for  convents  ;  marriage  be- 
came an  awful  and  scarcely  permitted  rite ; 
mothers  suckled  their  own  babes ;  and  persons  of 
all  ranks — nobles,  scholars,  and  artists — renounced 
the  world  to  assume  the  Dominican  rol)e. ' '  There 
was  a  reign  of  Puritan  rigor.     All  the  articles  that 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  97 

minister  to  pleasure  and  luxury — cards,  dice,  per- 
fumes, pictures,  musical  instruments,  and  licen- 
tious books — were  collected  and  burned  ou  the 
public  square. 

This  ascetic  rigor,  so  strongly  in  contrast  with 
the  prevailing  tone  of  society  and  the  Church, 
naturally  provoked  opposition.  It  was  distasteful 
to  the  worldly-minded  of  the  city.  Savonarola's 
avowed  purpose  to  reform  the  Church  at  large  upon 
the  apostolic  model  was  not  acceptable  to  the  in- 
famous Pope  Alexander  VI.  He  rejected  the  doc- 
trine of  Papal  infallibility.  "I  lay  down  this 
axiom,"  he  said  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "there  is 
no  man  that  may  not  deceive  himself.  The  Pope 
himself  may  err.  You  are  mad  if  you  say  the 
Pope  cannot  err  !  How  many  wicked  Popes  have 
there  been  who  have  erred?  You  say  that  the 
Pope  may  err  as  a  man,  but  not  as  Pope.  But  I 
say  the  Pox)e  may  err  in  his  processes  and  in  his 
sentences.  How  many  constitutions  have  Popes 
issued,  annulled  by  other  Popes  ;  hoAV  many 
opinions  of  Popes  are  contrary  to  those  of  other 
Popes  !  He  may  err  by  false  persuasions  ;  he  may 
err  by  malice,  and  against  his  conscience. ' '  These 
words  are  entirely  in  the  spirit  of  Luther. 

Savonarola  was  summoned  to  Rome,  but  refused 
to  go.  His  effort  to  have  a  general  council  con- 
vened by  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  decided  his 
fate.  Alexander  VI.  threatened  Florence  with  the 
interdict,  if  the  fearless  preacher  was  not  silenced. 
The  reformer  appealed  to  liis  work.  ' '  There  are 
briefs  arrived  from  Rome,  is  it  not  so  ?  "  he  asked. 
' '  They  call  me  the  son  of  perdition.  He  whom 
you  so  call  has  no  concubines  ;  he  preaches  the 
faith  of  Christ.  His  spiritual  daughters  and  sons, 
those  who  listen  to  his  doctrines,  pass  not  their 
7 


98  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

time  in  perpetuating  such  wickedness  ;  they  con- 
fess, commune,  hve  godly  hves.  This  friar  would 
build  up  the  Church  which  you  destroy." 

At  length  Savonarola  was  brought  to  trial.  By 
means  of  confessions  wrung  from  him  under  re- 
peated tortures — confessions  that  were  afterward 
mutilated  and  i^erverted — he  was  condemned  to 
death.  While  the  sacerdotal  robes  were  being 
stripped  off  in  the  ceremonial  of  degradation,  the 
bishop  uttered  the  solemn  formula  :  "I  separate 
thee  from  the  Church  militant  and  the  Church  tri- 
umphant. "  "  Not  from  the  Church  triumphant, ' ' 
replied  the  martyr,  in  firm  tones,  ' '  that  is  beyond 
thy  power."  His  body  was  then  burned,  along 
with  two  discij^les,  and  the  ashes  thrown  into  the 
Arno. 

4.  Among  the  earhest  of  the  biblical  reformers 
before  the  Reformation  were  the  Waldenses. 
Though  efforts  have  been  made  to  trace  their 
origin  to  an  earlier  date,  it  is  now  generally  con- 
ceded that  they  originated  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Their  founder  was  Peter  Waldo, 
a  wealthy  citizen  of  Lyons,  in  southern  France. 
The  sudden  death  of  a  friend  at  a  convivial  assem- 
bly startled  him  into  serious  reflection  upon  relig- 
ious truth  ;  and,  finally  abandoning  his  mercantile 
career,  and  distributing  his  wealth  among  the 
poor,  he  exhorted  all  who  would  hear  him  to  lives 
of  righteousness. 

He  made  the  Scriptures  the  basis  of  his  teach- 
ing ;  and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  having  first 
translated  the  New  Testament  into  the  dialect  of 
southern  France.  He  discovered  the  contradic- 
tions existing  between  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel 
and  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  Roman  Church. 
He  attacked  the  reigning  vices  of  the  clergy,  and 
denounced  the  arrogance  of  the  Pope.      He  ex- 


BIBLICAL  reformp:rs.  99 

horted  the  people  to  an  imitation  of  the  Hfe  of 
Christ  ;  and,  as  he  gained  many  adherents,  he  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Papal  hierarchy,  who 
for]:)ade  his  preaching.  With  apostolic  spirit,  he 
rei)lied  that  it  is  l)etter  to  obey  God  than  men. 

The  followers  of  ^^"aldo  were  filled  with  the  zeal 
of  the  primitive  Church,  and  their  preachers 
spread  their  doctrines  throughout  southern  France 
and  northern  Italy.  Their  doctrines,  in  sharp 
contrast  with  the  Papal  system  of  belief,  are  not 
unlike  the  leading  principles  of  the  Protestant  re- 
formers. ' '  The  Holy  Scriptures  alone, ' '  they 
said, ' '  contain  all  things  necessary  to  our  salvation, 
and  nothing  ought  to  l:>e  received  as  an  article  of 
faith  but  what  God  hath  revealed  to  us. "  *  This 
is  a  rejection  of  tradition  and  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority. They  conceived  of  the  Church,  not  as  a 
visible  organization  united  under  the  Pope,  but  as 
the  body  ' '  of  the  elect  of  God  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
through  the  merit  of  Christ,  gathered  together  by 
the  Holy  Sj)irit,  and  foreordained  to  eternal  life." 
Holding  that  Christ  is  the  sole  mediator  between 
God  and  men,  they  rejected  the  worship  of  saints 
and  the  sacerdotal  character  of  the  priesthood. 
' '  They  receive, ' '  says  Vignaux,  ' '  two  sacraments, 
baptism  and  the  Lord' s  Supper.  They  affirm  that 
all  masses  are  damnable,  especially  those  which 
are  repeated  for  the  dead,  and  that,  therefore,  they 
ought  to  be  abolished  ;  to  which  they  add  the  re- 
jection of  numberless  ceremonies.  They  deny 
the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  especially  the  power 
which  he  hath  usurped  over  the  civil  government ; 
and  they  admit  no  other  degrees,  except  those  of 
bishops,  priests,  and  deacons.  They  condemn 
the  Popedom  as  the  true  Babylon,  allow  the  mar- 

*  Milner's  "Church  History,"  IL,  p.  54. 


100  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

riage  of  the  clerg}',  and  define  the  true  Church  to 
])e  those  who  hear  and  understand  the  Word  of 
God."^ 

The  Waldenses  required  of  candidates  for  the 
ministry  an  extended  and  accurate  acquaintance 
with  the  Scriptures,  To  this  end,  the  candidates 
were  expected  to  learn  by  heart  the  Gospels  of 
Matthew  and  John^  all  the  canonical  epistles,  and 
a  considerable  part  of  the  writings  of  David,  Sol- 
omon, and  the  prophets.  Afterward,  upon  evi- 
dence of  a  consistent  Christian  life,  they  were 
ordained  as  pastors  by  the  laying  on  of  hands. 
The  younger  pastors  submitted  themselves  to  the 
older,  and  all  were  supported  by  the  voluntar}^ 
contributions  of  the  people.  They  taught  the 
fundamental  truths  of  the  Christian  faith  as  em- 
bodied in  the  ecumenical  creeds. 

The  evangelical  teaching  of  the  Waldenses  pro- 
duced a  simple  but  beautiful  type  of  piety.  Their 
character  has  been  outlined  by  an  inquisitor  in  an 
interesting  passage.  "The  heretics  are  known," 
he  said,  "by  their  manners  and  words  ;  for  they 
are  orderly  and  modest  in  their  manners  and  be- 
havior. They  avoid  all  appearance  of  pride  in 
their  dress  ;  they  neither  wear  rich  clothes  nor 
are  they  too  mean  and  ragged  in  their  attire. 
They  avoid  commerce,  that  they  may  be  free  from 
falsehood  and  deceit  ;  they  live  by  manual  in- 
dustry, as  day-laborers  or  mechanics  ;  and  their 
preachers  are  weavers  and  tailors.  The}^  seek  not 
to  amass  wealth,  but  are  content  with  the  neces- 
saries of  hfe.  They  are  chaste,  temperate,  and 
sober ;  they  abstain  from  anger.  Their  women 
are  modest,  avoid  slander,  foolish  jesting,  and 
levity  of  words,  especially  falsehood  and  oaths." 

Notwithstanding  their  earnest  faith  and  simple 

*  Milner's  "  Church  History,"  II.,  p.  54. 


BIBLICAL    REFORMERS.  101 

piety,  they  were  calumniated  by  their  enemies. 
As  in  the  early  Church,  they  were  stigmatized  witli 
opprobrious  names,  and  accused  of  horrible  wick- 
edness. In  Provence  they  were  called  cut-purses. 
Because  they  denied  the  doctrine  of  transubstanti- 
ation,  they  were  characterized  as  Arians.  They 
were  charged  with  lewdness,  with  disregard  of  the 
sanctity  of  marriage,  and  with  other  abominable 
vices.  Through  these  and  similar  calumnies,  re- 
ligious hatred  was  inflamed  and  the  sword  of 
persecution  sharpened. 

From  the  close  of  the  twelfth  to  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century  and  later,  the  Waldenses 
were  subject  to  almost  ceaseless  persecution.  The 
Inquisition,  instituted  by  Innocent  III.,  was  first 
employed  against  them.  Hundreds  of  these 
simple-minded  and  inoffensive  Christians  were 
thrown  into  prison,  and  afterward  tortured, 
hanged,  and  burned.  They  were  frequently  at- 
tacked by  secular  princes,  urged  on  by  the  Papacy 
and  the  hope  of  plunder.  Innocent  VIII.  himself 
sent  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men  against  them 
under  his  legate.  Fire  and  slaughter  desolated  their 
peaceful  and  flourishing  valleys.  Horrible  pictures 
of  suffering  are  handed  down  to  us.  ' '  The  poor 
people,"  says  Milner,  "seeing  their  caves  pos- 
sessed by  their  enemies,  who  assaulted  them  during 
the  severity  of  winter,  retreated  to  one  of  the  high- 
est mountains  of  the  Alps,  the  mothers  carrying 
cradles,  and  leading  by  the  hand  those  little  chil- 
dren who  were  able  to  walk.  ^lany  of  them  were 
murdered,  others  were  starved  to  death  ;  a  hundred 
and  eighty  children  were  found  dead  in  their 
cradles,  and  the  greater  part  of  their  mothers  died 
soon  after  them." 

But  bitter  and  unrelenting  persecution  failed  to 
destroy  them.     As  happened  at  an  earlier  period, 


102  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

the  blood  of  the  martyrs  proved  the  seed  of  the 
Church.  At  the  period  of  the  Reformation  thej 
numbered,  it  has  been  estimated,  nearly  a  million, 
scattered  throughout  the  various  countries  of 
Europe.  They  survived  the  storm  of  the  Reform- 
ation era,  and  have  maintained  their  existence 
down  to  the  present  time.  The  Waldensian 
Church  of  Italy  is  active  in  its  missionary  work 
to-day. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    REF0RMINC4    COUNCILS. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  was  the  assembhng  of  the  Reform- 
mg  Comicils  of  Pisa,  Constance,  and  Basel. 
Though  the}^  failed  in  their  immediate  object,  the 
general  effect  Avas  to  shake  the  power  of  Papal 
absolutism  and  to  turn  the  thought  of  Europe  to 
the  crying  evils  existing  in  the  Church.  Though 
the  times  were  not  ripe  for  reform,  many  truths 
were  emphasized  during  the  agitations  of  this  period 
that  prepared  the  way  for  the  Protestant  movement 
of  the  following  century. 

The  calling  of  the  Reforming  Councils  was  due, 
first,  to  the  Papal  schism,  and,  second,  to  the  cor- 
rupt state  of  the  Church.  In  1378  the  cardinals, 
offended  by  the  tyranny  of  Urban  VI.,  withdrew 
for  the  most  part  from  Rome,  and  at  Fondi  chose 
Clement  VII.  as  Pope.  The  latter  took  up  his 
residence  at  Avignon.  The  C'hristian  nations  of 
Europe  were  divided  in  their  allegiance,  France, 
Scotland,  and  Spain  adhering  to  Clement,  and 
England,  Germany,  and  Scandinavia  to  Urban. 
The  result  was  disastrous.  The  maintenance  of 
two  Papal  courts  led  to  increased  extortion  ;  and 
the  rival  Popes,  by  their  intrigues,  anathemas, 
and  excommunications,  confused  and  scandalized 
the  religious  life  of  Europe.  ' '  You  know, ' '  says 
Philargi,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  "how  those  two 
wretched  men  calumniate  one  another  and  dis- 
grace themselves  by  invectives  full  of  rant  and 
(103) 


104  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

fury.  Each  calls  the  other  antipope,  ohtruder, 
antichri.st.  Each  of  them,  to  gain  patrons  in  the 
world,  to  make  his  own  party  stronger  by  this  or 
that  person,  dares  not  give  a  repulse  to  anybody 
that  asks  for  anything.  The  man  whom  one 
rightly  condemns,  the  other  pronounces  not  bound. 
And  thus  all  order  is  turned  into  confusion. ' '  ^ 

At  various  times  efforts  were  made  to  heal  the 
unhappy  schism.  The  cardinals,  in  advance  of 
election  to  the  Papal  chair,  pledged  themselves  to 
use  every  effort,  even  to  the  point  of  al^dicating, 
to  restore  unity.  Gregory  XII. ,  the  Italian  Pope, 
and  Benedict  XIII.,  the  French  Pope,  agreed  to 
meet  in  1407,  at  Savona,  to  take  steps  to  heal  the 
division.  But  regal  power  is  a  tempting  posses- 
sion ;  and  in  spite  of  their  promises  and  preten- 
sions, the  rival  Popes  were  not  in  earnest,  and  the 
proposed  meeting  never  took  place.  ' '  If  either 
one  of  the  two,"  says  Aretin,  an  eye-witness  and 
member  of  Gregory' s  court,  ' '  was  really  willing 
to  do  what  he  has  sworn  to  do,  the  other  would 
be  obliged  to  fulfill  his  part,  whether  willing  or 
not  willing.  For  what  excuse  or  evasion  could 
he  have?  But  now,  when  both  delay,  one  fur- 
nishes the  other  with  means  of  evasion  and  ex- 
cuse. .  .  More  acrimony  of  hatred,  more 
violent  indignation  could  not  exist. ' ' 

The  cardinals  of  both  parties  finally  became 
dissatisfied  with  the  insincerity  and  selfishness  of 
the  Popes,  and  put  forth  a  proclamation  calling 
for  a  General  Council  at  the  city  of  Pisa,  in  1409. 
All  other  efforts  to  restore  peace  to  the  Church 
having  failed,  the  eyes  of  western  Europe  were 
turned  hopefully  to  this  assembly.  It  was  largely 
attended.  Two  great  problems  confronted  the 
Council  :  first,   the  healing  of  the  Papal  schism, 

*  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  82. 


THE    KEFOKMING   COUNCILS.  105 

and,  second,  the  reformation  of  the  moral  and 
administrative  condition  of  the  Church.  In  1401 
Nicolas  de  Clemanges,  who  has  already  been 
quoted,  wrote  a  remarkable  work,  De  Ruina 
Ecdesise,  in  which  he  portraj^s  its  corrupt  and 
disorganized  condition.  Speaking  of  the  priest- 
hood, he  says:  "Brought  up  without  learning, 
in  idleness,  they  busy  themselves  onl}^  with  look- 
ing out  for  their  pleasures,  feasting,  and  sporting. 
Hence  in  all  places  there  are  so  many  bad, 
wretched,  ignorant  priests,  whose  scandalous  lives 
make  them  offensive  and  sources  of  corruption  to 
the  communities.  Hence  the  expressions  of  con- 
temi)t  for  priests  on  the  lips  of  all  the  people.  AA' hile 
it  Avas  formerly  the  case  that  with  people  of  the 
world  the  ])riesthood  stood  in  the  highest  honor, 
and  nothing  was  considered  more  worth}'  of  respect 
than  this  order,  now  nothing  is  considered  more 
deserving  of  contempt." 

The  Council  of  Pisa  was  dominated  b}'  the  lil>- 
eral  principles  of  the  University  of  Paris.  Chan- 
cellor Gerson,  while  recognizing  the  Papal  hie- 
rarchy as  necessary,  still  placed  the  Church  above 
the  Pope.  "It  is  from  Christ,"  he  said,  "the 
Head  and  Bridegroom  of  the  Church,  that  the 
mystical  body,  which  is  the  Church,  has  her 
origin  ;  and  directly  from  Him  she  has  her  power 
and  authority,  so  that  she  may,  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  her  unity,  cause  the  assembling,  in  a 
regular  manner,  of  a  General  Council  which  repre- 
sents her.  This  is  evident  from  the  words  of 
Christ :  '  ^Mlere  two  or  three  are  met  together  in 
My  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them  ; ' 
where  it  is  to  be  carefully  observed  that  He  does 
not  say  in  the  name  of  Peter  or  of  Paul,  but  in 
My  name,  thus  intimating  that  wherever  the  faith- 
ful do  but  assembk^j  if  this  be  done  in  His  name, 


106  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

that  is,  in  faith  on  Christ  and  for  the  weal  of  His 
Church,  He  himself  stands  by  them  as  an 
infallible  guide. ' '  * 

In  accordance  with  these  principles,  the  Council 
declared  its  supremacy  over  the  Pope.  The  rival 
Popes  were  summoned  before  it ;  and  when  they 
failed  to  appear,  they  ' '  were  declared  to  be  diso- 
bedient and  mendacious,  and,  as  incorrigible 
heretics  and  schismatics,  were  deposed  and  ex- 
communicated." t  The  faithful  throughout 
Christendom  were  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to 
them.  The  Council  elected  Peter  Philargi,  Arch- 
bishop of  Milan,  as  Pope,  who  assumed  the  name 
of  Alexander  V.  Before  his  coronation  the  Pope 
declared  that  he  would  occup}^  himself  Avith  the 
reformation  of  the  Church.  But  the  resolution 
passed  at  the  final  meeting  of  the  Council,  through 
his  influence,  shows  how  little  he  was  in  earnest : 
' '  Whereas  the  Pope  had  it  in  purpose,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Council,  to  reform  the  Church 
in  its  head  and  members  ;  and  whereas,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  much  has  been  set  in  order  b}^  him  ; 
and  whereas  many  other  things  relating  to  the 
order  of  the  prelates  and  other  subordinate  eccle- 
siastical persons  still  remained  to  be  done,  which, 
owing  to  the  j^remature  departure  of  the  i)relates 
and  delegates,  could  not  be  brought  about ;  there- 
fore, the  transactions  respecting  the  reformation 
should  be  suspended  until  the  meeting  of  the 
Second  Council,  and  then  and  there  be  continued. ' ' 
The  date  of  the  Second  Council  was  fixed  three 
years  later. 

Thus  the  first  Reformatory  Council  ended  in 
failure.  The  sentence  of  deposition  against  Gre- 
gory and  Benedict  had  been  unavailing  ;  and  so 

*  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  79. 

t  Alzog's  "  Universal" Kirchengeschichte,'  II.,  j).  162, 


THE    REFORMING   COUNCILS.  107 

far  from  restoring  harmony,  the  schism  had  been 
aggravated  by  the  addition  of  a  third  Pope.  The 
Council  had  been  rash  and  injudicious.  "Those 
who  attended  the  Council  of  Pisa,"  wrote  Nicolas 
de  Clemanges,  ' '  decreed  and  published  that  by  a 
new  election,  which  was  hastily  made  in  com- 
pliance with  the  wishes  of  a  few  ambitious  men, 
they  had  removed  schism  from  the  Church  and 
restored  peace  to  her.  And  who  in  the  Church  is 
so  blind  as  not  to  understand  clearly,  by  expe- 
rience, how  much  they  themselves  and  the  whole 
Church  were  deceived  l:)y  that  opinion  ?  Nothing 
worse  could  have  been  done  to  the  Church,  noth- 
ing more  dangerous  to  union,  than  before  every- 
thing had  been  duly  arranged,  and  placed  on  the 
basis  of  sincerity  and  concord,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
treat  of  peace  at  all,  to  proceed  to  a  new  election, 
the  very  thing  which  from  the  beginning  had  laid 
the  foundation  of  schism,  had  prolonged  it  to  such 
duration,  and  had  in  so  incredible  a  manner 
brought  the  Church  down  to  the  ground.  So  long 
as  the  hankering  after  benefices  causes  this  same 
thing  to  be  done,  so  long  shall  we  look  in  vain  for 
a  union  of  the  Church."  * 

Alexander  V.  did  not  long  survive.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Balthazar  Cossa,  as  John  XXIII. , 
one  of  the  most  abandoned  men  who  ever  occu- 
pied the  Papal  throne.  ' '  He  shrank  from  no 
crime, ' '  says  Neander,  ' '  practiced  the  most  un- 
blushing extortions  and  every  species  of  impu- 
dent simony,  and  abandoned  himself  to  every 
excess.  In  such  a  time  of  corruption,  he  was 
able,  by  his  immense  wealth,  to  obtain  great  in- 
fluence, which  enabled  him  to  carry  out  his  ob- 
jects. ' '  He  made  an  effort  to  gain  over  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris  by  the  bestowment  of  numerous 

*  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  88. 


108  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

benefices.  He  made  Gerson's  friend,  Peter 
d'  Ailly,  a  cardinal.  But  his  efforts  were  in  vain  ; 
and  Gerson,  in  a  work,  De  Modis  Unieiidi, 
continued  to  urge  reform  and  to  undermine  the 
Papal  supremacy.  ' '  See,  then,  ye  behevers, ' '  he 
exclaims,  ' '  that  if  we  obey  those  who  are  thus 
contending  with  each  other  and  rending  in  pieces 
the  Church,  we  grievously  sin.  Long  ere  this 
would  they  have  quitted  the  grasp  of  their  tyran- 
nical rule,  had  you  not  indulged  them  with  your 
obedience."  * 

Though  he  would  gladly  have  avoided  doing  so, 
-John  XXIII.  united  with  the  Emperor  Sigismund 
in  calling  a  General  Council  at  Constance  in  1414. 
It  is  notable  as  being  the  largest  Council  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  twofold  task  of  the  Council  of 
Constance,  as  of  that  of  Pisa,  was  to  heal  the  divi- 
sions of  the  Church,  and  to  reform  it,  as  the  ex- 
pression went,  "in  its  head  and  members." 
' '  Although  I  am  no  prophet,  nor  the  son  of  a 
prophet, ' '  wrote  d'  Ailly  at  this  time,  "  yet  I  ven- 
ture to  say,  without  asserting  anything  rash,  that 
if  at  the  next  Council  means  are  not  found  to  re- 
move these  scandals,  by  the  entire  healing  of  the 
schism  and  by  the  reformation  of  so  corrupt  a 
Church,  then  we  must  set  it  down  as  probable 
that  still  more  and  greater  evils  will  ensue. ' ' 

The  Council  of  Constance,  like  that  of  Pisa,  was 
dominated  by  the  liberal  views  of  the  University 
of  Paris.  In  a  discourse  delivered  before  the 
Council,  Gerson  took  strong  grounds  against  Papal 
supremacy.  ' '  If  the  Church  or  General  Council, ' ' 
he  said,  ^ '  decrees  anything  relating  to  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Church,  the  Pope  is  not  so  exalted, 
even  above  positive  law,  as  to  be  authorized 
arbitrarily  to  annul  such  decrees,  in  the  way  and 

*  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  95. 


THE    REFORMING   COUNCILS.  109 

in  the  sense  in  which  they  are  decreed.  Although 
a  General  Council  cannot  annul  the  Pope's  pleni- 
tude of  power,  conferred  on  him  by  Christ  in  a 
supernatural  way,  still  it  may  modify  the  use  of 
that  powder  by  determinate  laws,  and  by  confining 
it  within  a  certain  range  for  the  edification  of  the 
Church,  with  reference  to  which  the  Papal  power, 
as  well  as  all  other  authority  entrusted  to  man, 
w^as  instituted.  And  this  is  the  ultimate  basis  of 
all  Church  reformation.  A  Church  assembly  may 
be  convoked  in  many  cases  without  the  express 
sanction  and  the  express  proposal  of  the  Pope, 
though  he  may  have  been  lawfully  elected  and 
still  living." 

In  accordance  with  these  principles,  which  de- 
stroyed the  doctrine  of  Papal  absolutism,  the 
Council  promulgated  the  following  decree  :  ' '  The 
Synod  of  Constance,  regularly  assembled  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  forming  a  Universal  Council,  and 
representing  the  militant  Church,  has  its  authorit}^ 
hnmediately  from  God,  and  everyone,  the  Pope 
included,  is  bound  to  obey  it  in  what  pertains  to 
the  faith,  and  to  the  extirpation  of  schism,  and 
the  reformation  of  the  Church  in  head  and  mem- 
bers." *  When  John  XXIII.  showed  himself 
refractory,  he  was  solemnly  deposed  by  the  Coun- 
cil. He  w^as  charged,  not  only  with  promoting 
schism,  but  with  perjury  and  a  stubborn  denial 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  A  little  later 
Gregory  XII.  w^as  induced  to  abdicate  ;  and  wdien 
Benedict  XIII.  remained  obstinate,  he  was  de- 
serted by  his  adherents,  who  now  recognized  the 
supremacy  of  the  Council.  Thus,  in  the  year 
1417,  the  way  was  opened  to  heal  the  long- 
standing schism  by  the  election  of  a  universally 
acknowledged  Pope. 

*  Fisher's  "History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  \>.  257. 


110  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Two  questions  now  remained  l^efore  the  Coun- 
cil :  first,  the  election  of  a  new  Pope,  and,  second, 
the  reformation  of  the  Church.  The  self-seeking 
of  the  members  did  not  give  promise  of  the  best 
results.  ' '  Nearly  all  go  to  the  Council, ' '  says 
Nicolas  de  Clemanges,  "to  seek  their  own  in- 
terests, and  but  very  few  to  promote  whatever 
makes  for  peace  and  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Be- 
lieve me,  such  persons  ought  never  to  have  been 
selected  for  this  business,  persons  of  whom  it  is  to 
be  expected  that  they  will  do  more  by  their  covet- 
ousness  to  perplex  the  cause,  than  they  can  do  by 
any  zeal  for  peace  to  promote  it  in  any  way  ;  but 
we  should  have  chosen  men  who  were  especially 
free  from  ambition  and  inspired  with  zeal  for 
peace  and  Church  unity  from  heartfelt  love,  who 
would  not  do  fawning  homage  to  Popes  for  the  sake 
of  gain,  would  not  be  slaves  to  part}^  zeal,  but 
seek  to  form  alliances  for  the  promotion  of  a 
wholesome  concord,  and  not  their  own  private 
ends."  * 

The  Council  was  divided  on  the  question  whether 
the  election  of  a  Pope  should  precede  or  follow 
the  measures  of  reform.  The  German  party, 
headed  by  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  advocated  the 
postponement  of  the  election.  But  the  Italians 
and  Spaniards,  who  were  more  wedded  to  the  old 
order  of  things,  urged  the  immediate  election  of  a 
Pope.  The  Germans  were  finally  forced  to  give 
Avay,  but  not  till  they  had  made  a  vigorous  protest. 
' '  It  must  be  acknowledged  as  a  painful  fact, ' '  they 
said,  "  that  for  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
or  thereabouts,  several  Popes  with  their  courts 
had  been  devoted  to  the  fleshly  life,  immersed  iii 
worldly  pleasure,  and  thus  they  had  sunk  down- 
ward to  what  was  still  worse,   had  forgotten  the 

*  Neandei's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  114. 


THE    REFORMING   COUNCILS.  Ill 

things  of  Heaven  ;  had  taken  no  concern  what- 
ever in  the  welfare  of  souls  and  things  purely 
spiritual,  but  looked  merely  at  what  was  subser- 
vient to  gain  ;  had  usurped  to  themselves,  by  re- 
sorting to  any  means,  the  rights  of  other  churches. 
They  had  brought  all  tribunals  under  their  own 
control  ;  decided  on  all  matters,  even  secular  ;  dis- 
pensed unusual  indulgences  for  money  ;  and  finally 
they  had  amassed  such  an  amount  of  wealth  that 
many  of  them  could  enrich  all  their  kinsmen,  and 
some  had  even  sought  to  make  them  princes.  And 
hence  covetousness,  which  is  called  idolatry,  pay- 
ing court  for  si^iritual  dignities,  heresy,  and  sim- 
ony, had  spread  far  and  wide."  --^ 

The  election  took  place  in  1417,  when  Otto  Col- 
onna  became  ^lartin  V.  Though  pledged  to  a 
reformation  of  the  Church  in  advance  of  his  elec- 
tion, he  made  no  serious  effort  to  set  about  the 
work.  He  rejected  conciliar  authority,  as  it  had 
been  previously  set  forth  by  the  Council,  and  made 
some  vague  promises  to  abate  the  evils  connected 
with  indulgences.  The  Council  broke  up  April 
22d,  1418.  The  schism  had  been  healed,  but  the 
evils  of  Papal  administration  and  the  ignorance 
and  vice  of  the  clergy  were  left  untouched.  The 
greatest  Council  of  the  Middle  Ages  had,  in  a  large 
measure,  been  a  failure. 

After  a  futile  attempt  to  hold  a  Council,  first  at 
Pavia  and  then  at  Sienna,  Martin  V.  called  the 
third  and  last  of  the  Reforming  Councils  at  Basel 
in  1431.  The  laity  were  becoming  restive  under 
existing  conditions.  Ominous  mutterings  were 
heard  among  the  Teutonic  people.  Cardinal  Julian, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  preside  at  the  Council, 
wrote  to  Pope  Eugene  IV. :     ' '  What  impelled  me 

*  Neander's  "History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  pp.  121-124,  whex"e  u  full 
summary  of  this  remarkable  protest  is  given. 


112  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

to  come  here  is  the  false  position  and  the  Hcentious- 
ness  of  the  German  clergy,  owing  to  which  the 
laity  are  exasperated  beyond  measure  against  the 
ecclesiastics.  Wherefore  it  is  very  much  to  be 
feared  that  if  they  do  not  reform,  the  lait}^  will, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Hussites,  fall  out  with  the 
whole  body  of  the  clergy,  as  is  already  openly 
threatened. ' ' 

Three  principal  questions  came  before  the  Coun- 
cil of  Basel  :  1.  The  Bohemian  heresy  ;  2.  The 
,  union  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  Churches  ;  and,  3. 
Ecclesiastical  reform.  In  reference  to  the  first,  the 
use  of  the  cup  was  allowed  to  the  Bohemians. 
Nothing  was  accomplished  in  reference  to  the  sec- 
ond. The  question  of  reform,  particularly  on  its 
fiscal  side,  met  with  opposition  from  the  Roman 
Curia,  whose  wealth  and  luxury  were  at  stake.  In 
December,  1431,  Eugene  IV.,  alarmed  at  the  activ- 
ity of  the  Council  in  relation  to  reform,  attempted 
to  dissolve  it.  In  this  attempt  he  was  opposed  l)y 
his  legate.  Cardinal  Julian,  who  wrote  him  a  letter 
of  vigorous  protest.  ' '  So  many  Councils  have 
been  held  in  our  days,"  says  the  cardinal,  "and 
no  reformation  has  resulted  from  one  of  them. 
The  nations  were  expecting  that  from  this  Council 
some  fruit  would  come.  But  if  it  shall  be  thus 
dissolved,  it  will  be  said  that  we  have  trifled  with 
God  and  man.  And  as  no  remaining  hope  of  one 
amendment  will  exist,  the  laity  will,  with  good 
reason,  set  upon  us  as  the  Hussites  have  done  ; 
and,  in  truth,  rumors  to  that  effect  are  already 
afloat.  The  minds  of  men  are  full  of  mischief ; 
they  already  begin  to  spew  out  the  poison  that  is 
to  bring  death  to  us.  They  will  think  that  they 
do  God  an  acceptable  service  in  assassinating  or 
robbing  ecclesiastics.  Because  these  will  seem  to 
be  sunk  in  the  lowest  depths  of  sin,  they  will  be 


THE    REFORMING   COUNCILS.  113 

hateful  to  God  and  men  ;  and  the  .slight  reverence 
which  is  paid  them  now  will  then  vanish  entirely. 
This  Council  was  one  means  still  by  which  the 
people  of  the  world  could  ])e  in  some  measure  re- 
strained ;  but  when  they  see  every  hoi)e  dashed  to 
the  ground,  they  will  let  loose  the  reins  and  perse- 
cute us  openly.  Alas  !  What  honor  is  it  which 
is  to  accrue  to  the  Roman  court  for  dissolving 
a  Council  assembled  for  the  reformation  of  the 
Church?  Assuredly  will  all  the  odium,  all  the 
guilt  and  shame  fall  back  on  them,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  the  first  occasion  of  so  great  an  evil,  and 
carried  it  to  a  higher  jntch."  -^ 

Giving  no  heed  to  the  Pope's  bull  of  dissolution, 
and  reaffirming  its  supremacy  as  declared  at  Pisa 
and  Constance,  the  Council  of  Basel  continued  its 
sessions.  AMien  the  Pope  opened  a  rival  Council 
at  Ferrara,  he  was  deposed  by  the  Council  of  Basel 
as  contumacious,  and  Felix.  V.  was  elected  to  the 
Papal  throne.  But  these  violent  measures  of  the 
Council  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
Church.  In  the  schism  and  conflict  that  ensued, 
Eugene  gained  the  ascendancy,  and  at  his  death  his 
successor,  Nicholas  V.,  was  generally  recognized. 
In  1449  the  Council  decreed  its  own  dissolution, 
leaving  the  Papacy  in  al^solute  control,  and  failing 
in  every  measure  of  extensive  reform.  But  the 
Council  of  Basel,  as  well  as  those  of  Constance  and 
Pisa,  had  not  l)een  in  vain.  They  in  a  measure  un- 
dermined the  |)ower  of  the  Papacy  ;  they  aroused 
the  laity  of  Europe  to  a  deeper  sense  of  existing 
evils  ;  and  they  indicated  some  of  the  lines  upon 
w^hich  a  reformation,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  was 
to  proceed. 

*  Neander's  "  History  of  the  Church,"  V.,  p.  131. 

8 


CHAPTER   IV. 

LITERATURE   AND    THE    PAPACY. 

The  attitude  of  the  rising  national  literatures 
toward  the  Papacy  during  the  later  Middle  Ages  is 
full  of  interest.  This  literature  grew  out  of  the 
opening  intelligence  of  Europe.  In  every  country 
there  were  men,  apart  from  the  clergy,  who  ac- 
quired the  elements  of  learning,  either  through  the 
knightly  education  of  chivalry  or  through  the  old- 
est universities  and  the  revival  of  learning.  These 
men  escaped  from  the  enthralling  tutelage  of  the 
l^riesthood,  observed  and  thought  for  themselves, 
and  in  story,  poem,  and  satire  set  forth  the  con- 
dition and  abuses  of  the  Church.  The  work  thus 
accomplished  by  literature,  along  Avith  that  of  the 
mystics,  biblical  reformers,  and  Reforming  Councils, 
helped  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Reformation  of 
the  sixteenth  century. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  the  English  language 
assumed  essentially  its  modern  form.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  the  French  elements,  Avhich  had  ex- 
isted side  by  side  since  the  conquest  by  William  of 
Normandy,  harmoniously  coalesced.  This  new 
language, 'which  gradually  supplanted  French  and 
Latin,  gained  official  recognition  in  1362,  when  it 
became  the  language  of  the  courts  of  law  ;  and  the 
following  year  it  was  employed  in  the  speech  made 
at  the  opening  of  Parhament.  About  the  sarne 
time  it  was  used,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Wy cliff e  in 
his  sermons,  tracts,  and  translation  of  the  Bible  ; 
(114) 


LITERATURE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  115 

and  what  is  still  more  important  for  us  here,  it  be- 
came the  vehicle  of  a  rising  English  literature  in 
Langland,  Gower,  and  particularly 

"Dan  Chaucer,  the  first  warbler,  whose  sweet  breath, 
Preluded  those  melodious  bursts  that  fill 
The  spacious  times  of  great  Elizabeth 
AVith  sounds  that  echo  still."  * 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Hallam  that  "  the  greater 
part  of  literature  in  the  Middle  Ages,  at  least  homi 
the  twelfth  century,  may  be  regarded  as  artillery 
leveled  against  the  clergy. ' '  This  statement  may 
be  a  little  too  strong  ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that 
the  three  principal  English  poets  of  the  fourteenth 
century  all  set  forth,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
the  avarice,  inconsistency,  and  impurity  of  the 
Papacy  and  its  representatives.  No  class  of  the 
hierarchy  is  spared. 

John  Gower  was  of  noble  family.  He  wrote 
three  principal  poems,  only  one  of  which,  the 
"  Confessio  Amantis,"  or  Lover's  Confession,  was 
in  English.  It  was  wTitten,  as  he  tells  us  in  a 
prologue,  at  the  request  of  Richard  II. ,  who  met 
him  while  rowing  on  the  Thames.  It  contains  a 
large  number  of  tales  drawn  from  the  Scriptures, 
and  from  classical  and  medieval  sources.  In  Book 
11. ,  which  treats  of  Envy,  the  poet  tells  the  ' '  story 
of  Pope  Boniface's  supplantation  of  Pope  Celes- 
tine."  Through  a  guileful  artifice  Celestine  V. 
was  induced  to  resign  the  Papal  throne,  which  Boni- 
face VIII.  succeeded  in  securing  for  himself.  The 
treacherous  artifice  is  told  in  full.  It  is  followed 
by  a  description  of  the  reign  of  Boniface,  who  is 
pronounced  treacherous  in  all  his  work,  and  ' '  mis- 
leader  of  the  Papacie. ' ' 

*  Tennyson's  "  Dream  of  Fair  Women." 


116  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

"  Thine  entry,  like  a  fox,  was  sligh, 
Thy  reign  also,  with  pride  on  high, 
Was  like  the  lion  in  his  rage  ; 
But  at  the  last  of  thy  passage 
Thy  death  was  to  thehoundes  like." 

In  Book  y. ,  which  treats  of  Avarice,  Gower  de- 
scribes the  idleness  and  luxury  of  the  clergy.  A 
brief  extract,  with  the  spelling  someAvhat  con- 
formed to  present  usage,  will  serve  for  illustration. 
After  declaring  that  ' '  the  faith  decreaseth  and  all 
virtue  ceaseth,"  the  poet  continues  : 

"  Christ  died  Himself  for  the  faith, 
But  now  our  fearful  prelate  saith, 
*  The  life  is  sweet,'  and  that  he  keepeth 
So  that  the  faith  unholj^en  sleepeth, 
And  they  unto  their  ease  attenden 
And  in  their  lust  their  lives  dispenden, 
And  every  man  doth  what  him  list. 
Thus  stands  the  world  fulfilled  of  mist, 
That  no  man  seeth  the  right  way." 

Langland's  "  Piers  the  Plowman"  is  a  poem  of 
about  twenty-five  hundred  lines,  retaining  the  old 
Saxon  alliteration.  It  sets  forth  in  seven  cantos  a 
series  of  visions  in  which  the  condition  of  the  State 
and  the  Church  is  clearly  reflected.  Langland 
wrote  for  the  yeomanry,  as  Gower  for  the  nobility  ; 
and  in  his  poem  we  find,  no  doubt,  the  common 
opinion  about  the  monks  and  priests.  It  must 
have  been  very  popular  in  its  day,  for  no  fewer 
than  forty-five  manuscripts  are  still  extant. 

"Langland  is  antipapal,"  says  Dean  Milman 
in  an  excellent  summary,  ' '  yet  he  can  admire  an 
ideal  Pope,  a  general  pacificator,  reconciling  the 
sovereigns  of  the  world  to  universal  amity.  It  is 
the  actual  Pope,  the  Pope  of  Avignon  or  of  Rome, 
levjdng  the  wealth  of  the  Avorld  to  slay  mankind, 
who  is  the  subject  of  his  bitter  invective.     The 


LITEKATURE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  117 

Ccirdinals  he  denouiKies  with  the  same  indignant 
scorn  ;  but  chiefly  the  cardinal  legate,  whom  he 
has  seen  in  England  riding  in  his  pride  and  pomp, 
with  leAvdness,  rapacity,  merciless  extortion,  and 
insolence  in  his  train.  Al)oye  all,  his  hatred  (it 
might  seem  that  on  this  all  honest  English  indig- 
nation was  agreed)  is  against  the  mendicant  orders. 
The  friars  furnish  eyery  impersonated 
yice,  are  foes  to  eyery  yirtue  ;  his  bitterest  satire, 
his  keenest  irony  (and  these  w^eapons  he  wields 
with  wonderful  poetic  force)  are  against  their  dis- 
soluteness, their  idleness,  their  pride,  their  rapac- 
ity, their  arts,  their  lies,  their  hypocrisy,  their 
delicate  attire,  their  dainty  feasts,  their  magnificent 
buildings,  eyen  their  })roud  learning  ;  aboye  all, 
their  hardness,  their  i)itilessness  to  the  poor,  their 
utter  want  of  charity,  which  with  Langland  is  the 
yirtue  of  yirtues. ' '  * 

In  the  prologue  the  poet  describes  a  yision  of 
' '  a  fair  field  full  of  folk ' '  busily  engaged  in  their 
usual  yocations.  Various  classes  of  English  life 
are  represented,  particularly  in  connection  with  the 
Church.  There  were  some  who  ' '  for  loye  of  our 
Lord  liyeth  full  strait,"  but  they  seemed  to  be 
fcAy  in  number.  Pilgrims  and  palmers  yisited  St. 
James  and  saints  in  Rome — 

**  And  hadden  leave  to  lie  all  their  life  after." 

There  were  many  hermits — 

"  Great  lubbers  and  long,  that  loth  were  to  work, 
Clothed  themselves  in  copes,  to  be  known  from  others, 
And  made  themselves  hermits,  their  ease  to  have." 

The  poet  saw  friars,  ' '  all  tlie  four  orders, ' '  who 
"  Preached  to  the  people  for  profit  of  themselves." 

*  Milmau's  "  Latiu  Christiauity,"  VI. 


118  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Bishops  are  accused  of  going  to  London  instead 
of  watching  over  their  charges  ;  priests  are  charged 
with  having  concubines  : 

*'  And  bringen  forth  barnes  against  forbidden  laws." 

And  the  Pope  himself  is  charged  with  selling 
bulls.  In  Passus  or  Canto  V. ,  there  is  a  full  por- 
trait of  a  priest  who,  though  he  does  not  know  his 
paternoster,  can  recite  "rhymes  of  Robin  Hood 
and  Randolph,  Earl  of  Chester, ' '  He  was  never 
sorry  for  his  sins,  and  when  he  told  his  beads, 
' '  What  he  said  with  his  tongue  was  two  miles  from 
his  heart."  He  preferred  harlotry  to  visiting  the 
sick  and  "  fettered  folk  in  prison."  The  priest  is 
made  to  say  : 

* '  I  have  been  priest  and  parson  passing  thirty  winters, 
Yet  can  I  neither  say  nor  sing,  nor  saintly  lives  read  ; 
But  I  can  find  in  a  field  or  in  a  furrow  a  hare, 
Better  than  in  beatus  vir  or  in  beati  omnes 
Construe  one  clause  well,  and  preach  to  my  parishoners. 
I  can  hold  love-days  and  hear  a  reves  reckoning, 
But  in  canons  or  decretals  I  cannot  read  a  line. ' ' 

The  close  of  the  poem  is  full  of  significance. 
Though  the  poet  does  not  break  with  the  existing 
Papal  system,  he  does  not  wholly  rely  on  it.  A 
godly  life  appears  to  him  far  better  than  priestly 
forgiveness  or  Papal  indulgence  : 

"  At  the  dreadful  doom  when  the  dead  shall  arise, 
And  comen  all  before  Christ,  accounts  to  yield. 
How  then  laddest  thy  life  here,  and  His  laws  keptest. 
And  how  thou  didest  day  by   day,   the  doom   will 

rehearse  ; 
A  poke  full  of  pardons  there  nor  provincial  letters, 
Though  you  be  found  in  the  fraternity  of  all  the  four 

orders. 
And  have  indulgences  double-fold,  unless  Do- well  you 

help, 
I  set  your  patents  and  your  pardons  at  a  pea's  hull." 


LITERATURE    A^'D    THE    PAPACY.  110 

The  picture  that  Geoffrey  Chaucer  gives  of  the 
worldly  and  corrupt  character  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Papal  Church  is  no  more  pleasing  or 
favorable  than  the  ])ictures  presented  by  his  con- 
temporaries. The  ' '  Canterbury  Tales  ' '  is  his 
greatest  work  ;  and  in  the  prologue  he  gives  us, 
with  great  artistic  and  dramatic  power,  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  pilgrims  who  are  on  their  way  to  the 
tomb  of  Thomas  a  Becket.  It  is  a  living  picture  of 
contemporary  life,  showing  us  the  features,  dress, 
manners,  customs,  and  religious  life  of  the  English 
people  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
Nothing  escapes  the  microscopic  scrutiny  of  the 
poet ;  and  the  general  truth  of  his  description  is 
beyond  all  question. 

In  the  group  of  twenty-nine  pilgrims,  Avho  in- 
clude the  various  classes  of  English  society,  not  a 
few  representatives  of  the  Church — a  prioress,  a 
monk,  a  friar,  a  parson,  a  summoner,  and  a  par- 
doner— are  found.     The  prioress, 

**  That  of  her  smiling  was  full  simple  and  coy," 

is  distinguished  more  for  her  social  elegance  than 
for  her  piety.     The  i:)arson, 

"  Rich  he  was  of  holy  thought  and  work," 

is  presented  as  an  ideal  portrait  of  pastoral  fidel- 
ity and  excellence: 

''  For  Christ's  love,  and  His  apostles  twelve, 
He  taught,  but  first  he  followed  it  himself." 

But  Chaucer's  account  of  the  other  representa- 
tives of  the  existing  ecclesiastical  order  is  far  less 
favorable  The  monk  was  a  prince  of  good-livers. 
His  principal  dehght  was  in  horses  and  hunting,  and 

"  He  gave  not  for  that  text  a  moulting  hen 
That  saith  that  hunters  be  not  hol}^  men." 


120  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

The  good  cheer  he  continually  enjoyed  left  its 
mark  upon  his  ruddy  and  worldly  face: 

' '  His  head  was  bald  that  shone  as  any  glass, 
And  eek  his  face,  as  he  had  been  anoint. 
He  was  a  lord,  full,  fat,  and  in  good  point." 

The  friar  was  a  ' '  wanton  and  merry  ' '  man — 

**  Somewhat  he  lisped,  for  his  wantonness. 
To  make  his  English  sweet  upon  his  tongue  ; 
And  in  his  harping,  when  that  he  had  sung, 
His  eyen  twinkled  in  his  head  aright, 
As  do  the  starres  in  the  frosty  night." 

He  was  a  most  successful  beggar  for  his  order.  He 
cultivated  the  acquaintance  of  women  and  men  of 
means  ;  he  knew  the  taverns  in  every  town,  and 
the  barmaids  ;  but  with  poor  people  he  had  noth- 
ing to  do  ;  for  ' '  it  was  not  advantageous  to  deal 
with  such  rabble. ' '  ^loney  moderated  the  severity 
of  the  penance  he  imposed: 

"  Full  sweetley  heard  he  confessioun, 
And  ])leasaunt  was  his  absolucioun  ; 
He  was  an  easy  man  to  give  penance, 
AV^here'er  he  knew  he'd  have  a  good  pitaunce  ; 
For  unto  a  poor  order  for  to  give 
Is  signe  that  a  man  is  well  i-shrive. 
For  if  he  gave,  he  dorste  make  avaunt. 
He  wiste  that  a  man  was  repentaunt." 

The  summoner  was  as  repulsive  in  his  character 
as  in  his  features.      He  was  fond  of  strong  Avine — 

"  And  when  that  he  well  drunken  had  the  wine. 
Then  would  he  speak  no  word  except  Latyn." 

His  private  life  was  not  a  model  of  purity  ;  and 
familiarity  with  ecclesiastical  courts  had  made  him 
somewhat  skeptical.  He  was  not  unamiable  in 
disposition: 


LITERATUKE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  121 

•'  And  if  ho  found  .somewliere  a  good  fella  we, 
He  wolde  teacben  him  to  have  no  awe 
In  such  case  of  the  Arche-deacon's  curse, 
Unless  a  niannes  soul  were  in  his  purse  ; 
For  in  his  purse  he  sholde  y-punished  be. 
'  Purse  is  the  Arche-deacon's  hell,'  quoth  he." 

But  the  pardoner  is  the  worst  of  the  lot,  and  hiy 
transparent  frauds  Chaucer  lays  bare  with  exquisite 
satire.  He  figured  as  a  great  ecclesiastic,  but  his 
supreme  object  was  money: 

''  AVell  could  he  read  a  lesson  or  a  story, 
But  best  of  all  he  sang  an  offertory  ; 
For  well  he  knew,  when  that  the  song  was  sung, 
He  moste  preach,  and  well  affyle  his  tongue 
To  Wynne  silver,  as  he  right  well  could  ; 
Therefore  he  sang  full  merrily  and  loud." 

As  he  rode  along  with  the  })ilgrims — 

"  His  wallet  lay  before  him  in  his  lap, 
Brimful  of  pardons  come  from  Kome  all  hot. 
******* 

But  of  his  craft,  from  Berw^'k  unto  Ware, 
Ne  was  there  such  another  pardoner, 
For  in  his  bag  he  had  a  pilwe-beer,  * 
Which  that,  he  seide,  was  our  lady's  veil ; 
He  seide  he  had  a  tatter  of  the  sail 
That  Seynte  Peter  had,  when  that  he  w^ent 
Upon  the  sea,  till  Jesu  Christ  him  hente;  f 
He  had  a  cross  of  metal  full  of  stones, 
And  in  a  glass  he  hadde  pigges  bones  ; 
But  with  these  reliques,  when  that  he  fond 
A  poore  parson  dwelling  in  the  lond, 
Upon  a  day  he  got  him  more  moneye 
Than  that  the  parson  got  in  monthes  tweye. 
And  thus  with  feyned  flattery  and  japes  t 
He  made  the  parson  and  the  people  his  apes." 

Throughout  the  ''  Canterbury  Tales,"  the  refer- 
ences to  the  representatives  of  the  Church  are  in 
keeping  with  the  portraits  given  in  the  prologue. 

*  Pillow-case.  t  Took.  t  Tricks. 


122  THE    EEFOKMATION    DAWN. 

In  France  the  corrupt  condition  of  the  Church 
evoked  strong  condemnation.  Both  in  poetr}'  and 
prose  the  monks  and  priests  were  targets  for  the 
shafts  of  satirists.  The  troubadours  of  the  South 
directed  many  of  their  songs  against  the  tyranny 
and  wickeclness  of  the  Papacy.  They  generally 
took  sides  with  the  Albigenses,  and  thus  aroused 
the  enmity  of  the  Popes.  In  1229  the  University 
of  Toulouse  was  founded  ;  and  Pope  Innocent  IV. , 
denouncing  the  Proven9al  language  as  identified 
with  heresy,  forbade  its  use  by  the  students. 

Thibaut  IV. ,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  crusade 
against  the  Albigenses,  repented  of  his  part  in  the 
bloody  work,  and  denounced  it  in  burning  words  : 

"  They  are  preachers  who  have  left  their  sermons 
To  wage  war  and  to  kill  people  ; 
Never  in  God  did  such  men  believe. 
Our  head*  makes  all  the  limbs  to  suffer." 

In  two  of  the  longest  and  most  popular  poems 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  ' '  Roman  de  Renard  ' '  and 
the  ' '  Roman  de  la  Rose, ' '  the  worldliness,  fraud, 
and  immorality  of  the  monks  and  clergy  are  ex- 
posed. In  the  former  we  read  that  "really  the 
reverend  folks  should  strive  to  conduct  themselves 
better."  The  prevalence  of  concubinage  on  both 
sides  of  the  Alps  is  dwelt  upon.  Then  the  poem 
proceeds  : 

"All  powerful  truly  is  money  ! 
Few  are  the  princely  lands  in  which  the  priests  do  not 

levy 
Tolls    and    rents,   availing  themselves  of    mill    and  of 

village. 
Such  pervert  the  world,  and  the  people  learn  what  is 

evil  ; 
For  one  sees,  where  the  priest  is  such,  there  all  become 

sinful, 

*  That  is,  the  Pope. 


LITERATURE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  128 

One  blind  man  from  the  path  that  is  good  misleading  the 

others. 
Nay,  now,  who  has  seen  any  pious  w^orks  of  the  priesthood, 
Or  ^how  they  build  up  holy  Church  with  worthy  example. 
Who  lives  only  thereafter  ?    They  all  grow  stronger  in 

evil. 
So  is  it,  too,  with  the  people  ;  then  how  shall  the  world 

become  better  ?  "  * 

In  the  ' '  Roman  de  la  Rose, ' '  a  part  of  which 
was  translated  by  Chaucer,  we  read,  for  example, 
of  the  unscrupulous  methods  adopted  by  the 
monks  and  priests  to  overthrow  their  enemies  : 

"  Another  custom  usen  we  ; 
Of  them  that  will  against  us  be, 
We  hate  them  deadly  every  one, 
And  we  will  war  on  them,  as  one. 
Him  that  one  hateth,  hate  we  all 
And  project  how  to  make  him  fall. 
And  if  we  see  him  win  honour, 
Riches  or  praise  through  his  valour, 
Allowance,  rent,  or  dignity. 
Full  fast,  in  sootli,  compassen  we 
By  what  ladder  he  is  clomben  so  ; 
And  for  to  maken  him  doen  go, 
With  treason  we  will  him  defame, 
And  make  him  lose  his  goode  name. 
Thus  from  his  ladder  we  him  take, 
And  thus  his  friends  foes  we  make."  f 

The  "  Heptameron,"  written  by  Marguerite, 
Queen  of  Navarre,  presents  a  graphic  picture  of 
the  manners  and  morals  of  her  time.  It  con- 
tains seventy-two  stories,  nearly  all  of  which  turn 
upon  some  intrigue  or  amour.  Many  of  the  stories 
exhibit  the  immoralities  of  the  monks  and  priests. 
Sometimes  it  is  an  abuse  of  the  confessional ;  some- 
times it  is  an  unhallowed  relation  bet^veen  prior 
and  nun  ;  sometimes  it  is  a  curate  who  abuses  they 

*  This  extract  is  taken  from  Goethe's  "  Reineke  Fuchs,"  Canto  VIII. 
t  Chaucer's  "  Romaunt  of  the  Rose,"  1.  6924-38. 


124  THE    REFOKMATIOX    DAWN. 

confidence  of  his  parishioners  ;  sometimes  it  is  a 
fraudulent  marriage  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
money.  The  tales  are  all  too  gross  to  be  narrated, 
but  they  agree  in  exhibiting  a  shameful  state  of 
morals  among  the  minor  representatives  of  the 
Papal  Church. 

Rabelais,  who  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men 
of  his  time,  and  had  himself  taken  monastic  vows, 
portrays  the  idleness,  ignorance,  and  sensualit}"  of 
the  monks  in  strong  language.  He  was  pronounced 
by  Coleridge  one  of  ' '  the  deepest,  as  well  as  bold- 
est, thinkers  of  his  age."  In  his  "Life  of  Gar- 
gantua,"  he  explains  why  monks  were  generally 
despised.  "A  monk,"  he  says,  "does  not  labor, 
as  a  peasant  does  ;  he  does  not  guard  the  country, 
as  the  soldier  ;  he  does  not  heal  the  sick,  as  the 
physician  ;  he  does  not  preach  and  teach,  as  the 
good  evangelical  doctor  and  school-master ;  he 
does  not  import  conmiodities  necessary  for  the 
commonwealth,  as  the  merchant.  That  is  why 
they  are  hooted  and  abhorred  by  all  men.  '  Yea, 
but  they  pray  to  God  for  us,'  said  Grandgousier. 
'  Nothing  less, '  ansAvered  Gargantua.  '  It  is  true  that 
with  the  jingling  of  their  bells  they  disturb  all  the 
neighborhood. '  '  Right, '  said  the  monk,  '  a  mass, 
a  matin,  a  vesper  Avell  rung  is  half  said. '  '  They 
mumble  a  great  number  of  legends  and  Psalms,' 
continued  Giirgantua,  '  which  they  do  not  at  all  un- 
derstand. They  go  over  many  paternosters,  inter- 
larded with  long  Ave  Marias,  without  thinking  of 
them  or  understanding  them.  And  that  I  call 
mocking  God,  not  praying  to  Him.  But  so  help 
them  God,  if  they  pray  for  us,  and  not  for  fear  of 
losing  their  fat  loaves  and  soup.'  "  * 

The  literature  of  medijeval  Germany  is  still 
bolder  in  its  denunciation  of  ecclesiastical  al^uses. 

*"  Oeuvres  de  Rabelais,"  Chap.  XL. 


LITEKATIKE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  125 

111  France,  as  we  haA^e  seen,  the  attacks  were  leveled 
chiefly  at  the  lower  orders  of  ecclesiastics.  But  in 
(xermany  the  Papacy,  in  its  conflicts  with  the 
empire,  had  made  its  preposterous  claims  and 
tyranny  more  strinigly  felt.  German  satirists  are 
not  content  to  hold  the  monks  and  friars  up  to 
contempt,  but  boldly  assail  the  wickedness  and 
()})pressions  of  the  Papacy  itself.  In  various  w^ays 
poetry  broke  away  from  ecclesiastical  control,  and 
became  an  independent  moral  force.  "It  was 
tolerant  in  its  spirit, ' '  says  Scherer,  ' '  and  had  de- 
clared through  Wolfram  that  unbelief  could  l)e' 
expiated  by  a  mere  change  of  views.  In  the 
Xibelungenlied  it  had  inculcated  the  unchristian 
duty  of  revenge  ;  in  the  minnesingers  it  assigned 
a  position  to  women  which  the  Church  could  never 
Afield  to  them  ;  in  the  chivalrous  and  po]:>ular 
epics  it  set  up  ideals  of  life  utterly  at  variance 
with  those  represented  in  the  lives  of  the  Christian 
saints  ;  in  Walther's  and  Freidank's  hands  it 
assumed  a  directly  hostile  attitude  tow^ard  the 
Church  and  the  Papacy.  It  was  not  only  in 
Provence  that  heresy  went  hand  in  hand  with  the 
secular  poetry.  In  Germany,  too,  heretics  ac- 
quired great  influence  ;  they  gained  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  and  composed  hymns  and  songs  which 
were  taught  to  children. ' '  * 

Freidank  was  a  poet  whose  thought  extended 
beyond  the  sphere  of  love.  He  was  a  patriotic 
German,  who  sided  with  the  empire  in  its  con- 
flicts with  the  Papacy.  He  is  somewhat  indul- 
gent to  the  clergy,  but  fiercely  assails  the  Pope. 
St.  Peter,  he  says,  received  from  God  the  charge 
of  feeding  His  sheep,  not  of  shearing  them  ;  yet 
all  treasures  go  to  Rome  never  to  return  again. 
He  satirizes  the  system  of  indulgences,  and  rec- 

*  Scherer's  "  History  of  German  Literature,"  II.,  p.  225. 


126  THE    REFORMATION    DAAVN. 

oinmends  with  bitter  irony  that  the  man  who  con- 
templates murder  should  purchase  freedom  in 
advance. 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  mediaeval  story- 
tellers was  Strieker.  Though  a  severe  morahst 
and  steadfast  adherent  of  the  Church,  he  presented 
in  the  poem,  "The  Priest  Amis,"  a  characteristic 
j)icture  of  his  age.  The  hero  of  the  tale  is  a  cleri- 
cal swindler,  who  cunningl}^  imposes  on  the  ignor- 
ance and  credulity  of  his  victims.  He  sells  fraud- 
ulent relics  and  pretends  to  work  miracles.  Visit- 
ing a  cloister  under  the  garb  of  a  peasant,  he  de- 
ceives the  provost  with  his  pious  pretensions. 
When  asked  what  he  desires,  he  meekly  replies  : 
' '  I  am  a  poor  man  and  have  no  desire  for  prop- 
erty ;  for  I  wish  to  live  Avithout  sin,  and  to  lift  my 
heart  and  hands  to  God  in  prayer  until  the  day  of 
my  death."  Received  into  the  cloister,  he  creates 
the  impression,  by  a  cunning  trick,  that  he  is  the 
subject  of  miraculous  intervention.  The  cloister 
}:)ecomes  a  place  of  pious  pilgrimage,  and  rich  gifts 
pour  into  its  treasury.  The  end  of  the  story  is 
best  given  in  the  poet's  own  words  :  "He  had 
made  all  the  brethren  and  servants  drunk,  so  that 
they  lay  as  if  they  were  dead.  Then  the  priest 
bade  his  confederates  carry  out  quickly  the  silver 
and  gold,  and  all  that  had  been  offered  to  him. 
Nothing  was  forgotten.  Thus  he  took  away  full 
two  hundred  marks,  hasting  with  so  great  speed 
that  he  escaped  without  harm."  The  whole  story 
gives  an  interesting  insight  into  the  monastic  life 
of  the  time. 

The  greatest  of  the  minnesingers  was  Walther 
von  der  Vogelweide.  Born  in  the  Tyrol,  of  noble 
blood,  he  wandered  from  country  to  country  with 
harp  and  song.  ' '  Many  lands, ' '  he  says,  ' '  have 
I  seen."     He  dwelt  at  the  court  of  princes,  and 


LITERATURE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  127 

^vas  tutor  to  the  young  son  of  Frederick  II. ,  after- 
ward Henry  VII.  He  was  an  ardent  patriot ;  the 
German  people  were  the  best  that  he  ' '  found  in 
the  Avide  world. ' ' 

*'  The  German  has  a  well-bred  air, 
And  women  there  are  angel  fair," 

His  wide  experience  and  observation  gave  him 
a  clear  insight  into  the  religious  condition  of  the 
Germanic  states.  He  was  a  broad-minded  patriot, 
and  became  indignant  at  the  Papal  usurpation, 
which  dared  to  set  up  and  dethrone  German 
emperors.  The  conflicts  between  the  empire  and 
the  Papacy,  as  well  as  the  moral  degeneracy  of  his 
age,  are  reflected  in  his  poems.  He  attacked  the 
Pope  in  a  number  of  brief,  biting  poems,  the  energy 
and  ]:)rilliancy  of  which  must  have  given  them  wide 
circulation  and  large  influence.  Speaking  of  ' '  The 
Papal  Chair,"  he  says  : 

"  Thereon  men  now  invoke  God's  wrath, 
And  ask,  how  long,  O  Lord,  wilt  sleep  ? 
Thy  teachers  follow  error's  path, 

Thy  shepherd  flays  and  kills  the  sheep. 
The  layman's  robbed  of  goods  and  land, 
And  blood  makes  red  thy  Vicar's  hand."  * 

That  is  nearly  the  whole  poem  ;  but  the  lines, 
as  he  wrote  them,  sting  and  stick  like  barbed 
arrows. 

Walther  boldly  accuses  the  Pope  and  prelates  of 
their  corrupt  and  demoralizing  example.  Here  is 
his  poem  entitled  ' '  Bad  Models  : ' ' 

"  Whose  heart  turns  not  to  every  evil  now? 
The  Pope  as  heretic  belies  his  vow, 
AVith  whom  should  dwell  celestial  love  and  grace. 
The  words  and  deeds  of  prelates  let  us  trace  : 
In  both  they  once  deserved  unstinted  praise  ; 

*  Waltlier  von  der  Vogelweide's  "  Sammtliche  Gedichte."  So  for  the 
Iranslatious  follow! ug. 


128  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

In  })oth  they  are  consistent  now-a-days, 
For  steadily  they  teach  and  follow  wrong, 
Wlio  sliould  the  models  be  of  all  the  throng. 
Despair  ha,s  tilled  the  stupid  layman  long  ; 

E'en  hermits  bitter  lamentations  raise." 

Walther  touches  upon  Papal  avarice  and  cun- 
ning in  a  little  poem  called  "  The  Italian  Monev- 
Chest:" 

"  Pray  see  the  Pope,  how  Christ -like  are  his  smiles. 
As  he  to  cronies  tells  his  deep-laid  wiles  ! 
•Twere  well  he  ne'er  snch  wiles  had  found  : 
*  Two  Germans  with  one  diadem  I've  crowned. 
That  they  with  ^ya.r  may  work  the  Empire  woe, 
While  with  their  gold  my  coffers  overflow. 
They  cut  each  other's  throats  by  rage  possessed. 
But  meanwhile  German  coinage  tills  my  chest. 
Therefore,  ye  prelates,  feast  with  merry  breast, 
And  let  the  stupid  Germans  hungry  go.'  " 

The  literature  of  Italy  during  the  fourteenth 
century  was  scarcely  less  severe  in  its  treatment  of 
the  vices  of  the  representatives  of  the  Papacy.  In 
this  century  hved  three  great  writers — Petrarch, 
Dante,  and  Boccaccio — who,  as  forerunners  of  the 
modern  era,  have  exerted  an  immense  influence 
upon  the  literary  development  of  Europe.  It  is 
remarkable  that  all  three  repeatedly  attack  tlie 
profligacy  of  the  Roman  court. 

For  many  years  Petrarch  lived  at  Avignon  dur- 
ing the  "  Babylonish  captivity,"  and  was  on  terms 
of  intimacy  with  meml^ers  of  the  Papal  court.  In 
his  letters  and  sonnets  he  has  described  the  luxury 
and  vice  prevailing  in  ecclesiastical  circles.  His  own 
life  was  not  free  from  the  moral  taint  of  the  time  ; 
for  though  a  priest  of  the  Church,  he  lived  with  a 
concubine,  and  wrote  his  passionate  sonnets  to 
Laura.  His  two  children  were  afterward  legiti- 
mized by  a  Papal  bull. 

In  his   letters   Petrarch   has  given  vent  to  his 


LITERATURE   AND    THE    PAPACY.  129 

indignation  at  the  luxury  of  the  Papal  court. 
''The  successors  of  a  troop  of  fishermen,"  he 
says,  "  have  forgotten  their  origin.  They  are  not 
contented,  like  the  first  followers  of  Christ,  who 
gained  their  Hvelihood  by  the  Lake  of  Genes- 
areth,  Avith  modest  habitations,  but  they  must 
build  themselves  splendid  palaces,  and  go  covered 
with  gold  and  purple.  They  are  fishei'S  of  men, 
Avho  catch  a  credulous  multitude  and  devour  them 
for  their  prey. ' '  He  calls  Avignon  ' '  the  western 
Babylon,  the  worst  of  all  the  habitations  of  men, 
and  but  little  better  than  the  infernal  regions. ' ' 

"From  the  contents  of  these  letters,"  says  a 
biographer,  ' '  w^e  might  set  down  Petrarch  as  the 
earliest  preacher  of  the  Reformation,  if  there  were 
not,  in  the  writings  of  Dante,  some  passages  of 
the  same  stamp.  If  these  epistles  w^ere  really  cir- 
culated at  the  time  they  were  written,  it  is  matter 
of  astonishment  that  Petrarch  never  suffered  from 
any  other  flames  than  those  of  love  ;  for  many 
honest  reformers,  wdio  have  been  roasted  alive, 
have  uttered  less  antipapal  vituperation  than  our 
poet ;  nor,  although  Petrarch  w^ould  have  been 
startled  at  a  revolution  in  the  hierarchy,  can  it 
])e  doubted  that  his  wTitings  contributed  to  the 
Reformation."  * 

In  one  of  his  sonnets,  Petrarch  invokes 
maledictions  upon  the  proud  and  voluptuous 
court : 

"  May  fire  from  Heaven  fall  upon  thy  head, 
O  Avicked  court !     Thy  former  frugal  fare 
Is  noAV  exchanged  for  luxury  and  pride, 
The  spoils  of  others  whom  thou  hast  oppressed 
With  evil  deeds  which  are  thy  sole  delight. 
O  nest  of  treachery  !  in  which  is  nursed 
Whatever  wickedness  o'erspreads  the  world." 

*  Petrarch's  "Souuets  and  Other  Poems/'  p.  15. 


130  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Dante  is  universally  recognized  as  the  greatest 
poet  of  Italy.  He  concentrated  in  himself  the 
learning  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  afterward  em- 
bodied it  in  the  "  Divine  Comedy."  He  was  a 
participant  in  the  i)olitical  and  religious  struggles 
of  his  day,  and  spent  the  closing  years  of  his  life 
in  banishment  froni  his  native  city,  Florence. 
Near  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  he 
wrote  a  prose  treatise,  entitled  De  Monarchia, 
in  which  he  coml)ats  the  Pope's  claim  to  univer- 
sal dominion.  The  emperor,  he  maintains,  de- 
rives his  authority,  no  less  than  the  Pope,  from 
God.  He  points  out  some  of  the  fallacies  by 
which  the  Papists  were  accustomed  to  defend  the 
temporal  pretensions  of  the  Pope.  The  well- 
known  text  about  l^inding  and  loosing  he  restricts 
to  spiritual  matters.  The  comparison  of  the  Pope 
to  the  sun  and  the  emperor  to  the  moon  he  rejects 
as  false.  Though  he  does  not  question  the  fact  of 
Constantine's  gift  of  the  empire  to  the  Pope,  he 
denies  its  legality  ;  for  the  one  had  no  right  to 
give  nor  the  other  to  receive  such  a  gift.  The 
empire  cannot  be  dependent  on  the  Papacy,  for  it 
existed  and  was  recognized  in  the  Scriptures  before 
a  Pope  was  heard  of. 

But  it  is  in  the  ''Divine  Comed}^ "  that  the 
moral  condition  of  the  Papacy  is  pointed  out. 
Dante  does  not  hesitate  to  place  in  purgatory  and 
hell  some  of  the  occupants  of  the  chair  of  St. 
Peter  as  a  penalty  for  tlieir  wickedness.  Had  he 
lived  through  the  following  century,  who  can 
doubt  that  he  would  have  placed  many  more 
there  ?  Wandering  through  the  regions  of  the 
lost,  the  poet  asks  : 

'"  •  O  say.  my  guide, 
What  race  is  this?    Were  these,  whose  heads  are  shorn, 
On  our  left  hand,  all  separate  to  the  Church  ?  ' 
He  straight  replied  :  *  In  their  first  life  these  all 


LITERATURE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  131 

In  mind  were  so  distorted,  that  they  made, 
According  to  due  measure,  of  their  wealth 
No  use.     This  clearly  from  their  words  collect, 
Which  they  howl  forth,  at  each  extremity 
Arriving  of  the  circle,  where  their  crime 
Contrary  in  kind  disparts  them.     To  the  Church 
Where  separate  those,  that  with  no  hairy  cow^ls 
Are  crowned,  both  Popes  and  cardinals,  o'er  whom 
Avarice  dominion  absolute  maintains.  '  "  - 

Visiting  a  lower  and  more  horrible  abyss,  Dante 
and  his  companion  sought  shelter  from  ' '  the 
fetid  exhalation  : " 

"  Behind  the  lid 
Of  a  great  monument  we  stood  retired. 
Whereon  this  scroll  I  read  :  '  I  have  in  charge 
Pope  Anastasius,  whom  Photinus  drew 
From  the  right  path.  '  " 

Among  the  other  Popes  whom  Dante  consigns 
to  hell  as  a  fit  retribution  for  their  wickedness 
were  Nicholas  III. ,  who  confesses  his  simony  ; 
Boniface  VIII.,  who  did  "not  fear  to  seize  the 
beautiful  Lady  " — the  Church — "and  then  to  do 
her  outrage  ; ' '  and  Clement  V. ,  "of  uglier  deed, ' ' 
who,  like  the  Maccabean  Jason,  bought  the  high- 
priesthood. 

Boccaccio' s  ' '  Decameron  ' '  is  one  of  the  best- 
known  works  of  mediaeval  literature.  It  has  ex- 
erted a  wide  influence  on  European  'literature, 
being  imitated  by  the  Queen  of  Navarre  in  the 
' '  Heptameron, ' '  suggesting  to  Chaucer  the  im- 
perishable ' '  Canterbury  Tales, ' '  and  supplying 
material  to  numberless  writers.  It  consists  of  one 
hundred  l^rief  stories,  which  seven  ladies  and 
three  gentlemen — all  young,  handsome,  and  cul- 
tivated— relate  as  a  merry  pastime  at  a  country 
villa,  -whither  they  had  fled,  in  1348,  to  escape 
the  plague  in  Florence.     Most  of  the  stories  are 

*  Dante's  "  Hell,"  Canto  VII.,  pp.  37-49. 


132  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

taken  from  contemporary  life,  and  present  a 
frightful  picture  of  the  depravity,  not  only  of  the 
Italian  cloisters,  but  also  of  the  Papal  court. 

A  single  passage,  taken  from  the  second  story, 
must  suffice.  A  Jew,  of  Paris,  on  the  point  of 
becoming  a  Christian,  determines  to  visit  Rome  in 
order  to  observe  the  manners  of  him  whom  he  is 
urged  to  receive  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  ' '  He 
mounted  his  horse, ' '  Boccaccio  continues,  ' '  and 
as  quickly  as  possible  betook  himself  to  the  court 
of  Rome,  where  he  was  honorably  entertained  by 
his  brethren,  and  there  al)iding,  without  telling 
any  the  reason  of  his  coming,  he  began  diligently 
to  inquire  into  the  manners  and  fashions  of  the 
Pope  and  cardinals  and  other  prelates  and  of  all 
the  members  of  his  court,  and  what  with  that 
which  he  himself  noted,  being  a  mighty  quick- 
witted man,  and  that  which  he  gathered  from 
others,  he  found  all,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest,  most  shamefully  given  to  the  sin  of  lust, 
without  any  restraint  of  remorse  or  shamefastness, 
insomuch  that  the  interest  of  courtesans  was  of  no 
small  avail  there  in  obtaining  any  considerable 
thing. 

' '  Moreover, .  he  manifestly  perceived  them  to  be 
universally  gluttons,  wine-bibbers,  drunkards,  and 
slaves  to  their  stomachs,  brute  fashion,  more  than 
to  aught  else  after  lust.  And,  looking  further,  he 
saw  them  all  covetous  and  greedy  after  money, 
insomuch  that  human,  nay.  Christian  blood,  no 
less  than  things  sacred,  whatsoever  they  might  be, 
whether  pertaining  to  the  sacrifices  of  the  altar  or 
to  the  benefices  of  the  Church,  they  sold  and  bought 
indifferently  for  a  price,  making  a  greater  traffic 
and  having  more  brokers  thereof  than  folks  at 
Paris  of  silks,  and  stuffs,  or  what  not  else." 
Such  is  Boccaccio's  picture  of  the  Papal  court. 


LITERATURE    AND    THE    PAPACY.  133 

The  foregoing  surve}^  brief  and  partial  as  it  is, 
clearly  reveals  the  attitude  of  literature  in  the 
principal  nations  of  Europe  toward  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Chaucer,  Rabelais,  Walther  von 
der  Vogelweide,  Dante,  Boccaccio — these  are  all 
distinguished  names  in  literary  history.  Chaucer 
and  Dante  rank  among  the  world's  great  classics. 
They  all  presented  the  religious  condition  of  their 
age  as  they  saw  it ;  and  against  the  inconsisten- 
cies, avarice,  fraud,  and  licentiousness  of  a  large 
part  of  the  representatives  of  the  Papal  Church 
they  hurled  their  indignant  protests  and  scathing 
satire.  Their  works  gained  a  permanent  hold 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people  ;  and  their  in- 
fluence in  undermining  the  Papal  system  and  in 
preparing  the  way  for  a  purer  type  of  Christianity 
cannot  be  estimated. 

yVe  have  now  traced  the  various  reforming 
agencies  and  influences  prior  to  the  Reformation. 
The  mystics,  in  opposition  to  the  externalism  of  the 
Papac}",  cultivated  a  deep  spiritual  piety  ;  indi- 
vidual reformers,  like  A^^ycliffe  and  Huss,  advo- 
cated a  purer  type  of  behef  and  practice  ;  the 
Reforming  Councils  of  Pisa,  Constance,  and  Basel 
protested  against  the  autocracy  of  the  Pope,  and 
urged  a  reformation  of  the  Church  in  head  and 
members  ;  the  literature  of  the  age  rebuked  and 
satirized  the  tj^anny  and  wickedness  of  the 
Roman  hierarchy  and  its  representatives.  But 
all  proved  in  vain.  Instead  of  improvement  or 
reformation,  the  Papacy  persisted  in  its  course  of 
oppression  and  evil  ;  it  showed  an  unwillingness 
to  reform  either  its  doctrinal  system  or  its  corrupt 
practice.  It  clung  desperately  to  its  system  of 
error  and  oppression  which  placed  western  Europe 
helpless  at  its  feet.  There  seemed  no  hope  of 
]:)reaking  its  deadly  tyranny.     But  no  evil  institu- 


134  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

tion  is  permanent.  And  even  while  the  Papacy 
was  rioting  in  hixury,  extortion,  and  wickedness, 
and  jesting  about  the  profitableness  of  the  Chris- 
tian fable,  God  was  preparing  conditions  which 
made  its  tyranny  impossible  for  a  large  part  of 
Europe.  The  time  of  retribution  was  coming, 
the  day  of  reform  was  at  hand. 


PART  THIRD. 

THE  CIRCUMSTANCES  PREPARING  THE  WAY  FOR 
THE  REFORMATION,  AND  ITS  BEGINNING. 


CHAPTER   I. 


NATIONAL   GROWTH. 


A  REMARKABLE  phenomenon  in  the  later  Mid- 
dle Ages  was  the  growth  of  national  life  and 
national  feeling.  After  the  destruction  of  the 
Roman  Empire  by  the  incursions  and  conquests 
of  the  various  Teutonic  tribes,  there  was  no  national 
Hfe.  The  western  part  of  the  empire  was  divided 
up  among  Saxons,  Franks,  Goths,  and  others.  In 
place  of  Roman  unity,  law,  and  order,  we  find 
nothing  but  division,  disorder,  and  anarchy.  The 
great  modern  nations  were  not  born.  The  only 
bond  of  unity,  which  was  at  first  an  indefinite  and 
inefficient  one,  was  the  Papacy.  But,  as  in  the 
beginning  of  creation  and  under  the  same  divine 
law,  order  came  in  the  course  of  time  to  replace 
chaos.  And  by  the  sixteenth  century,  England, 
France,  and  Spain  had  emerged  from  the  confusion 
in  substantially  their  modern  form,  and  in  Ger- 
many, though  there  was  a  lack  of  a  single  strong 
government,  a  national  feeling  had  in  some  meas- 
ure developed. 

In  this  wonderful  development  of  national  life, 
Italy  lagged  furthest  behind.     Its  divisions  and- 
(135  J 


136  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

animosities  were  largely  due  to  that  power  which 
ought  to  have  been  beneficently  active  in  securing 
unity  and  strength.  But  the  Papacy,  instead  of 
V)eing  the  friend,  has  been  the  enemy  of  Italy. 
Lacking  the  power  to  form  a  stable  national  gov- 
ernment, and  fearing  too  strong  a  secular  authority, 
the  Popes  found  it  to  their  interest  to  perpetuate 
existing  divisions.  When  any  of  their  neighbors, 
as  Naples,  Venice,  Florence,  or  Milan,  became 
dangerously  strong,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  call 
France  or  Spain  or  Germany  to  their  aid  in  sub- 
duing these  rival  states. 

The  statements  of  the  Florentine  historian, 
INIachiavelli,  on  this  subject  are  as  clear  as  bold. 
"Forasmuch  as  some  are  of  opinion,"  he  says, 
' '  that  the  felicity  and  welfare  of  Italy  depend  upon 
the  Church  of  Kome,  I  shall  set  down  some  few 
reasons  to  the  contrary,  which  I  have  framed  to 
myself,  two  of  which  are,  in  my  judgment,  unan- 
swerable. One  is,  that  by  the  corrupt  example  of 
that  court,  that  province  has  lost  all  its  religion, 
and  all  its  devotion,  which  has  been  followed  by 
many  inconveniencies  and  disorders  ;  for  as  the 
religiousness  of  a  people  presupposes  all  well,  so 
Avhere  they  are  wicked  it  betokens  the  contrary  ; 
so  then,  we  Italians  have  this  obligation  to  the 
Church  and  its  ministers,  that  by  their  means  we 
are  become  heathenish  and  irreligious  ;  besides  an- 
other (little  less  pernicious),  and  that  is,  that  we 
are  grown  divided  and  factious,  which  must  of 
necessity  be  our  ruin,  because  never  was  any  prov- 
ince happy  or  united,  unless  under  the  obedience 
of  one  commonwealth  or  one  prince,  as  France  and 
Spain  at  this  time  :  and  the  reason  is,  because 
Italy  is  not  upon  the  same  terms,  as  having  no  one 
republic  or  commonwealth  to  govern  it  but  the 
Church;  and  though  the  Pope  has  assumed  a  tern- 


NATIONAL   GROWTH.  137 

poral  as  well  as  spiritual  jurisdiction,  yet  he  was 
never  so  courageous,  or  powerful,  as  to  possess 
himself  of  all,  and  make  himself  prince  ;  nor  was 
he  ever  so  weak,  but,  upon  apprehension  of  losing 
his  temporal  dominion,  he  could  not  call  in  some 
foreign  potentate  to  defend  him  against  any  man 
who  was  grown  too  formidable.  The  Church, 
therefore,  being  neither  so  strong  as  to  conquer  all 
Italy,  nor  so  weak  as  to  suffer  it  to  be  overrun  by 
anybody  else,  has  been  the  occasion  that  it  never 
fell  into  the  hands  of  one  person,  but  has  been 
cantonized  into  several  principalities,  by  which 
means  it  has  been  so  Aveak  and  disunited  that  it 
has  ])een  not  only  exposed  as  a  prey  to  the  powers 
of  the  barbarians,  but  to  everyone  that  thought 
^ood  to  invade  it,  which  is  an  unhappiness  we 
Italians  owe  only  to  the  Church."  * 

Strange  to  say,  Germany  was  almost  as  far  from 
national  unity  as  Italy  itself.  Its  divisions  were 
chiefly  due  to  the  great  rival  of  the  Papacy, 
namely,  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  whose  sover- 
eign was  always  a  German  i)rince.  While  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  empire  founded  by  Charlemagne, 
the  Holy  Roman  Empire  (which  was  neither  holy 
nor  Roman),  dates  from  Otto  the  Great  in  the  tenth 
century.  It  rests  on  a  widespread  belief  during 
the  Middle  Ages  that  there  should  be  a  universal 
temporal  power  corresponding  to  the  universal 
spiritual  power.  The  function  of  the  former  was 
to  guard  man's  secular  interests,  as  the  function  of 
the  latter  was  to  guard  his  spiritual  interests. 
"The  Pope,  as  vicar  in  matters  spiritual,"  to  use 
the  words  of  Bryce,  "  is  to  lead  men  to  eternal  life  ; 
the  emperor,  as  vicar  in  matters  temporal,  must  so 
control  them  in  their  dealings  with  one  another 
that  they  may  be  able  to  pursue  undisturbed  the 

*  Machiavelli's  "  Discourses,"  Book  I.,  Chap.  XII. 


138  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

spiritual  life,  and  thereby  attain  the  same  supreme 
and  common  end  of  everlasting  happiness.  In 
view  of  this  object,  his  chief  dut}^  is  to  maintain 
peace  in  the  world,  while  toward  the  Church  his 
position  is  that  of  Advocate,  a  title  borrowed  from 
the  practice  of  Churches  and  monasteries  of  choos- 
ing some  powerful  baron  to  protect  their  lands  and 
lead  their  tenants  to  war.  The  functions  of  advo- 
cac}^  are  twofold  :  at  home  to  make  the  Christian 
])eople  obedient  to  the  priesthood,  and  to  execute 
their  decrees  upon  heretics  and  sinners  ;  abroad  to 
propagate  the  faith  among  the  heathen,  not  spar- 
ing to  use  carnal  weapons. ' '  * 

At  first  the  two  powers  were  regarded  as  equal, 
deriving  alike  their  authority  immediately  from 
God.  But  the  result  was  what  might  easily  have 
been  foreseen.  A  conflict  ar(^se  between  the 
Papacy  and  the  empire  for  supremacy.  The  con- 
flict extended  through  several  centuries  with  vary- 
ing fortunes.  If  Henry  III.  deposed  three  rival 
Popes  and  appointed  another  in  their  place,  his 
successor,  Henry  IV. ,  though  titular  sovereign  of 
all  nations,  was  forced  to  become  a  humble  sup- 
pliant of  the  Pope,  at  Canossa,  in  1077.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  the  bold  Gregory  VII.  put  forth 
the  preposterous  claims,  which  all  succeeding 
Popes  have  steadily  adhered  to  in  theory,  that  all 
mankind  are  subject  to  the  Pope  as  Clod's  Vicar, 
and  that  all  earthly  authority  emanates  from  him. 

The  Holy  Roman  Empire  worked  disastrously 
upon  German  unity  in  two  ways.  In  the  first 
place,  it  gave  the  emperor  large  interests  outside 
of  Germany.  A  large  part  of  his  energies  were 
absorbed  in  the  effort  to  maintain  his  supremacy 
in  Italy,  the  south  of  France,  parts  of  Poland, 
and  elsewhere.     Unlike  the  sovereigns  of  France 

*  Bryce's  "  Holy  Roman  Empire,''  p.  102. 


NATIONAL   GROWTH.  139 

and  England,  he  was  not  free  to  labor  for  the 
unity  and  solidification  of  Germany  under  a 
strong  central  authority.  In  the  second  place,  in 
the  emperor's  conflicts  with  the  Papacy,  various 
German  princes,  in  order  to  weaken  the  imperial 
power  or  to  promote  some  selfish  end,  sometimes 
sided  with  tlie  Poj)e. 

Under  the  Golden  Bull  of  1356,  a  new  emperor, 
when  a  vacancy  occurred,  was  to  be  chosen  by 
seven  princely  electors,  as  folloAvs  :  the  three 
archbishops  of  Mayence,  Treves,  and  Cologne, 
the  Court  Palatine  of  the  Rhine,  the  King  of 
Bohemia,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  the  Mar- 
grave of  Brandenburg.  Though  inducted  into 
office  with  elaborate  feudal  ceremonies,  the  em- 
peror had  little  power  at  the  close  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  There  were  no  imperial  domains  ;  and  his 
authority  consisted  of  little  more  than  a  sort  of 
feudal  headship. 

But  in  spite  of  the  division  of  Germany  into  a 
large  number  of  petty  principalities,  there  existed, 
in  the  fifteenth  century  and  earUer,  a  racial,  if 
not  strictly  national,  feeling.  The  empire  itself, 
with  its  German  head,  brought  the  people  to- 
gether in  a  common  interest.  Their  language, 
which  had  become  the  vehicle  of  heroic  poems 
and  beautiful  minnesongs,  was  a  strong  bond  of 
union.  Satirists  had  strongly  appealed  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  German  race.  Above  all,  per- 
haps, flourishing  cities  had  sprung  up  under  the 
commercial  activity  following  the  crusades,  and 
]:)ecome  centres  of  intelligence  and  wealth.  They 
formed  leagues  to  protect  themselves  from  the  un- 
just tariffs  or  plundering  expeditions  of  the  no- 
bles. The  Hanseatic  League,  which,  at  the  height 
of  its  power,  included  no  fewer  than  eighty-five 
cities,  was  a  mighty  force  in  northern  German 3^ 


140  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

The  growth  of  the  French  monarchy,  which 
^vas  completed  in  the  fifteenth  century,  extended 
through  nearly  five  hundred  years.  It  began  with 
Hugh  Capet,  who  was  elected  king  in  987.  At 
that  time  France  was  divided  into  a  number  of 
independent  baronies  or  duchies,  the  principal  of 
which  were  Normandy,  Brittany,  Burgundy, 
Guienne,  Aquitaine,  Toulouse,  and  Provence. 
Hugh  Capet,  on  ascending  the  throne,  ruled  only 
a  small  district  in  northern  France,  the  chief  city 
of  w^hich  was  Paris. 

The  dynasty  of  the  Capets,  which  extended 
from  the  tenth  to  the  eighteenth  century,  suc- 
ceeded in  solving  the  double  and  difficult  problem 
that  confronted  it  in  the  beginning.  It  united 
the  different  fragments  of  territory  in  a  single 
royal  domain,  and  it  substituted  a  central  monar- 
chical authority  for  feudal  independence  and 
division.  This  great  result,  which  was  slowly 
effected  from  reign  to  reign,  was  brought  about  in 
three  ways  :  1.  The  heredity  of  the  crown  ;  2. 
The  principle  of  primogeniture ;  and,  3.  The 
indivisibility  of  the  royal  domain.  The  principle 
of  heredity  secured  consistency  of  policy ;  the 
principle  of  primogeniture,  when  once  estab- 
lished, prevented  family  divisions  and  civil  con- 
flicts ;  and  the  indivisibility  of  the  royal  domain 
guarded  and  perpetuated  every  gain. 

The  royal  domain  was  extended  in  various  ways. 
Sometimes  a  district  was  violently  seized  upon  at 
the  death  of  the  reigning  duke.  Sometimes  a 
duchy  was  added  by  marriage  with  the  heiress. 
At  other  times  favorable  opportunities  were  taken 
to  make  additions  by  conquest.  With  the  grow- 
ing power  and  extent  of  the  kingdom,  this  aggres- 
sive policy  encountered   fewer   difficulties.     The 


NATIONAL   GROWTH.  141 

resistance  and  combinations  of  the  minor  feudal 
lords  proved  unavailing. 

The  greatest  difficulty  that  finally  lay  in  the 
path  of  French  national  development  was  the  ter- 
ritory held  by  the  kings  of  England.  At  one 
time  the  English  possessions  included  the  entire 
western  part  of  France — the  duchies  of  Normandy, 
Brittany,  and  Aquitaine.  Quarrels  and  conflicts 
])etween  French  and  English  sovereigns  were 
almost  incessant.  Early  in  the  thirteenth  century 
Philip  Augustus  succeeded  in  depriving  John  of  a 
considerable  part  of  the  English  territory.  Finally 
the  hundred  years'  war  came  on,  and  was  gloriously 
terminated  by  the  heroic  leadership  of  Joan  of 
Arc.     England  lost  forever  her  French  possessions. 

Along  with  the  extension  of  his  territory,  the 
French  king  established  a  stable  central  adminis- 
tration. He  assumed  the  right  to  levy  and  collect 
taxes  ;  he  maintained  a  standing  army  ;  he  estab- 
lished a  system  of  justice.  Thus  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  France  had  become  a 
strong  absolute  monarchy.  Out  of  the  feudal 
baronies  of  the  jNIiddle  Ages  there  had  issued  a 
strong  nation,  which,  in  its  independence  and 
sharply-marked  self-consciousness,  was  averse  to 
all  foreign  interference  and  domination  whatever. 

The  national  development  of  Spain  was  more 
rapid  and  more  splendid  than  that  of  any  other 
state  in  Europe.  For  centuries  Spain  had  been 
under  the  dominion  of  feudal  lords.  The  Moors 
had  established  themselves  in  southern  Spain. 
Subsequently  three  minor  kingdoms  had  developed 
— Aragon,  Castile,  and  Navarre.  As  elsewhere  in 
Europe,  the  cities  had  risen  into  prominence  ;  and 
in  the  conflicts  between  the  kings  and  the  feudal 
lords  they  generally  sided  with  the  former. 


142  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

But  in  1481,  when  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  married 
Isabella  of  Castile,  there  came  a  sudden  change. 
By  the  virtual  union  of  these  two  kingdoms,  the 
strongest  in  Spain,  the  national  development  re- 
ceived a  new  and  irresistible  impulse.  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  were  agreed  in  their  policy  of  bring- 
ing about  national  unity.  One  of  the  first  steps 
in  this  direction  Avas  the  conquest  of  Grenada. 
After  a  bloody  conflict  of  ten  years,  the  Moorish 
capital,  with  the  famous  castle  of  the  Alhambra, 
Avas  captured,  and  the  king,  Boabdil,  driven  into 
Africa.  Later  the  kingdom  of  Navarre  was  added 
to  the  central  monarchy,  and  thus  Spain,  in  less 
than  a  generation,  became  one  of  the  leading  pow- 
ers of  Europe. 

Two  facts  added  greatly  to  the  prestige  of  Spain. 
The  first  Avas  the  discoA'ery  of  the  Ncaa'  World  by 
Columbus  in  1492.  In  addition  to  an  increase  of 
fame,  it  brought  large  colonial  possessions,  and 
filled  her  treasury  AA'ith  the  gold  and  silver  of  Mex- 
ico and  Peru.  The  other  fact  adding  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Spain  Avas  the  far-sighted  policy  of  Ferdi- 
nand. He  sought  to  form  alliances  by  marriage 
Avith  leading  sovereigns  in  Europe.  His  daughter 
Isabella  married  the  king  of  Portugal — an  alliance 
that  under  Phihp  II.  added  that  country  to  Spain. 
His  daughter  Joanna  married  Philip  of  Austria — 
a  marriage  that  was  intended  to  secure  the  union 
of  Austria  and  Burgundy  under  the  Spanish  crown. 
His  daughter  Catherine  married  HenrA^  VIII.  of 
England — a  union  that  Avas  designed  to  secure  the 
alliance  of  England  against  France,  the  principal 
rival  of  Ferdinand  in  Europe.  Thus  a  national 
feeling  came  to  predominate  over  all  others. 

England  Avas  the  first  nation  of  modern  Europe 
to  acquire  a  firm  national  organization.  Even  be- 
fore  the   Norman   conquest  in   1066,  its  various 


NATIONAL    GROWTH.  143 

hostile  divisions  Avere  l^rought  together  under 
Edgar,  who  first  became  ' '  King  of  all  England. ' ' 
For  nine  hundred  years  its  line  of  sovereigns  has 
been  practically  unbroken.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century  it  was  wellnigh  an  absolute 
monarchy,  under  the  vigorous  rule  of  the  Tudors. 

An  important  change  and  notable  advance  in 
the  development  of  England  began  with  William 
of  Normandy,  who  made  good  his  claim  to  the 
throne  at  the  l)attle  of  Hastings.  He  restored 
national  unity  l)y  abolishing  the  four  great  earl- 
doms, Avhich  had  i:)reviously  been  a  constant  men- 
ace to  the  throne.  He  introduced  the  feudal  sys- 
tem in  a  modified  form  ;  while  parceling  out 
England  among  his  principal  followers,  he  bound 
them  all  to  loyalty  to  himself.  Strong  independ- 
ent baronies,  as  they  existed  across  the  channel, 
were  not  allowed.  As  a  means  of  strengthening 
the  crown,  he  had  a  census  and  property-list  made 
for  the  kingdom,  which  is  still  preserved  in  the 
Domesday  Book.  This  enabled  him  to  levy  taxes 
and  make  military  requisitions  throughout  his 
realm. 

For  two  or  three  centuries,  England  was  occu- 
pied l)y  two  classes — Norman  rulers  and  Saxon 
serfs.  The  French  and  Saxon  languages  existed 
side  by  side.  But  in  various  ways,  particularly 
through  military  service  in  France,  these  two  hos- 
tile classes  were  1)rouglit  closer  together.  Their 
languages  amalgamated ;  and,  in  the  works  of 
Langland,  Wycliffe,  Gower,  and  Chaucer,  they 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  English  used  to-day. 
A  strain  of  French  or  Norman  vivacity  was  added 
to  the  Teutonic  phlegm  of  the  Saxon  ;  and  the 
result  was  a  type  of  character  that  has  never  been 
surpassed  in  its  force,  enterprise,  and  progress. 

For  a  century  after  the  conquest,    the  barons 


144  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

endeavored  to  secure  a  dominant  power  in  the 
kingdom.  Under  the  reign  of  Stephen  they  were, 
in  a  measm^e,  successful,  and  "robber  castles" 
were  erected  in  all  parts  of  England.  But  under 
his  successor,  Henry  II.,  the  royal  power  was 
again  made  pre-eminent,  and  in  the  Assize  of  Clar- 
endon he  established  a  system  of  justice  for  all 
England.  The  usurpations  and  tyranny  of  John 
provoked  hostility  among  all  classes  of  the  people  ; 
and  in  1215  he  was  forced  to  sign  the  Magna  Charta, 
which  henceforth  j^laced  a  limit  on  roA^al  aggres- 
sions. 

In  1295  the  first  complete  or  model  Parliament 
was  summoned.  At  first  the  lords  and  commons 
sat  together  ;  but  about  1343  the  commons  be- 
came a  sej^arate  body,  and  gradually  gained  greater 
influence  in  the  government.  They  voted  supplies 
of  money  and  proposed  new^  laws.  In  1376  they 
gained  the  right  of  impeaching  such  ministers  of 
the  crown  as  had  shown  themselves  unfaithful  to 
the  interests  of  the  people.  At  last,  in  1407,  they 
obtained  the  exclusive  right  of  making  all  grants 
of  money  required  by  the  crown.  This  gave  them 
immense  power. 

The  Wars  of  the  Roses  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century  were  favorable  to  Yoyeil  supremacy. 
]\Iany  of  the  nobility  were  slain  ;  and,  absorbed  in 
local  interests,  not  a  few  of  the  towns  failed  to 
elect  members  of  Parliament.  During  the  reign 
of  the  Tudors,  beginning  with  Henry  VII.  in 
1485,  the  Parliament  had  little  influence.  In  order 
to  raise  money,  Henry  resorted  to  ' '  benevolences ' ' 
or  enforced  gifts,  and  to  fines  imposed  by  the 
Court  of  Star  Chamber.  Henry  VIII.,  under 
whom  the  Reformation  in  England  had  its  begin- 
ning, shared  in  these  despotic  tendencies. 

Thus,  for  several  centuries  before  the  era  of  the 


NATIONAL   GROWTH.  145 

Reformation,  the  nations  of  Europe  were  assum- 
ing a  strong  self-consciousness  and  resolute  inde- 
l)endence.  This  spirit  of  national  independence 
was  supported  hy  the  revived  study  of  Roman 
law,  which  brought  to  the  defense  of  royal  author- 
ity a  code  more  venerable  for  its  antiquity  than  the 
forged  decretals  to  which  the  Papacy  made  appeal. 
The  result  was  in  all  the  states  of  Europe  a  growing- 
antagonism  to  Papal  aggression  and  supremacy. 
Except  in  spiritual  matters,  the  tendency  was  to 
exalt  the  state  al)ove  the  Papacy.  This  gave  rise 
to  the  prolonged  conflict  between  the  emperor  and 
the  Pope,  between  Guelf  and  Ghibelline,  between 
France  and  Rome,  and  between  England  and  the 
Pope.  Even  Spain  resisted  the  claims  of  the  Pope 
to  absolute  supremacy. 
10 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    RENAISSANCE. 

The  term  Renaissance  is  applied  to  the  remark- 
able intellectual  awakening  that  came  as  a  second 
birth  to  Europe  in  the  closing  centuries  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Evidences  of  this  awakening  have 
already  come  before  us  in  the  growth  of  com- 
merce, the  rise  of  nations,  and  the  beginnings  of 
national  literatures.  But  the  most  potent  agency 
in  this  awakening  was  the  revival  of  learning. 
After  the  dark  night  of  the  earher  Middle  Ages, 
Europe  quickl}^  rose  to  the  heights  of  ancient 
classical  thought,  which  was  henceforth  to  be  the 
basis  of  grander  human  achievement. 

The  ecclesiastical  schools  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
as  has  been  shown,  were  not  designed  for  popular 
instruction.  For  a  long  time  the  masses  grew  up 
in  ignorance.  Even  the  nobility  were,  in  most 
cases,  unable  to  read  and  write.  But  two  in- 
fluences sprang  up  later  to  increase  educational 
faciUties.  The  first  was  chivalry,  which  provided 
a  knightly  culture  ;  and  the  second  was  commerce, 
which  led  to  the  establishment  of  town  or  burgher 
schools  for  the  purpose  of  practical  education. 
Both  classes  of  schools,  which  were  reactions 
against  the  narrow  and  defective  character  of  the 
ecclesiastical  schools,  led  to  a  larger  and  more 
practical  knowledge. 

As  early  as  the  twelfth  century,  the  presence  of 
a  scientific  spirit  is  unmistakable.  The  University 
(146) 


THE    KENAISSANCE.  147 

of  Bologna  was  founded  fur  the  study  of  law,  and 
the  University  of  Salerno  for  the  study  of  medi- 
cine. About  the  same  time  the  cathedral  school 
of  Paris  was  enlarged  into  a  university,  in  which 
the  study  of  theology  was  predominant.  This 
became  for  a  long  time  the  most  distinguished 
seat  of  learning  in  Europe,  and  was  at  one  period 
attended  by  more  than  twent}"  thousand  students. 
Its  influence  before  and  during  the  Reformation 
was  very  great.  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  though 
the  dates  of  their  foundation  cannot  be  fixed,  are 
scarcely  less  veneraljle. 

This  scientific  spirit,  the  energies  of  which  were 
devoted  largely  to  scholasticism,  was  due  to  two 
principal  causes.  The  first  was  the  crusades, 
which  brought  to  the  people  of  western  Europe 
the  stimulus  of  a  noble  purpose,  and  which,  by 
various  expeditions  to  the  Holy  Land,  acquainted 
multitudes  with  new  customs  and  peoples.  The 
second  was  Mohammedan  learning.  For  a  time 
the  Arabians  were  the  intellectual  teachers  of 
Europe.  Their  schools  in  Spain,  and  even  in 
Bagdad,  were  attended  by  Christian  youth  from 
various  parts  of  Europe,  who  carried  Arabian 
science — mathematics,  astronomy,  philosophy, 
chemistry,  medicine — back  with  them  to  their 
homes.  The  intellectual  activity  of  Christian 
Europe  was  thus  stimulated  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree. Before  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
no  fewer  than  ten  universities,  attended  by  thou- 
sands of  eager  students,  had  been  founded  in 
Italy,  France,  Germany,  and  England. 

The  remarkable  inventions  and  discoveries  of 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  exerted  a 
favorable  influence  upon  the  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  Europe.  The  invention  of  gunpowder, 
as  soon  as  it  led  to  the  use  of  firearms,  helped  to 


148  THE    REFORMATION    DAAVN, 

l)ring  about  a  salutar}^  change  in  the  organization 
of  society.  It  destroyed  the  military  prestige  of 
the  knightly  order,  brought  the  lower  classes 
into  greater  prominence,  and  contributed  to  the 
abolition  of  serfdom. 

The  mariner's  compass  greatly  furthered  navi- 
gation. Instead  of  creeping  along  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  or  Atlantic,  seamen  boldly  ven- 
tured upon  unknown  waters.  Discoveries  fol- 
lowed in  rapid  succession.  After  the  Canary 
Islands  and  the  Azores,  the  coast  of  Upper 
Guinea  was  discovered,  and,  in  1486,  Diaz  reached 
the  southern  point  of  Africa,  which  was  named 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  In  1492  Columbus  dis- 
covered the  western  continent,  and,  six  years  later, 
Vasco  de  Gama,  rounding  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  sailed  across  the  Indian  Ocean  to  Calcutta. 
Early  in  the  following  century,  Englishmen  ex- 
plored the  coast  of  North  America,  Spain  con- 
quered Mexico  and  Peru,  and  Portugal  took  pos- 
session of  the  eastern  part  of  South  America.  It 
is  not  easy  to  conceive  the  effect  Avhich  these  dis- 
coveries, as  presented  in  highly  wrought  descrip- 
tions, must  have  had  upon  the  people  of  Europe. 

A  very  powerful  factor  in  the  intellectual  de- 
velopment of  Europe  was  the  printing  press.  In- 
vented about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
it  Avas  brought,  in  less  than  a  decade,  to  such  per- 
fection that  the  Avhole  Bible  appeared  in  type  in 
1456.  It  l^ecame  an  invaluable  auxiliary  in  the 
revival  of  learning.  It  at  once  supplanted  the 
tedious  and  costly  process  of  copying  books  by 
hand,  and  brought  the  repositories  of  learning 
within  reach  of  the  common  people.  Printing 
was  rapidly  introduced  in  all  the  nations  of 
Europe  ;  and,  before  the  close  of  the  century, 
there  were  no  fewer  than  two  hundred  and  thirty- 


THE    RENAISSANCE.  149 

six  printing  establishments  in  various  towns  and 
cities. 

The  revival  of  learning  had  its  beginning  in 
Italy.  The  three  great  Italian  writers  of  the  four- 
teenth century — Dante,  Boccaccio,  and  Petrarch — 
may  be  regarded  as  its  pioneers.  Dante  was 
familiar  with  the  Latin  classics,  and  in  the  ' '  In- 
ferno "  it  is  Virgil  who  serves  him  as  guide. 
Boccaccio  was  distinguished  for  his  scholarship. 
He  was  zealous  in  collecting  books  and  manu- 
scripts, and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  Italian 
who  imported  a  copy  of  the  ' '  Iliad  ' '  and  ' '  Odys- 
sey ' '  from  Greece.  His  Latin  work,  ' '  The  Gene- 
alogy of  the  Gods,"  was  the  most  comprehensive 
mythological  treatise  that  had  yet  appeared. 
Petrarch  was  a  zealous  student  of  Latin  and  Greek 
antiquity.  He  traveled  through  Italy,  France, 
Spain,  and  Germany  in  search  of  manuscripts, 
some  of  which  he  copied  with  his  own  hand. 
Though  an  ecclesiastic,  he  did  not  follow  mediaeval 
models  of  style,  but  wrote  with  classical  finish 
and  grace. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  Florence  became  the 
centre  of  culture  for  Italy.  The  city  was  under 
the  government  of  the  Medici,  who  made  it  the 
home  of  Uterature  and  art.  Michael  Angelo,  des- 
tined to  be  the  greatest  sculptor  and  one  of  the 
greatest  painters  of  Italy,  lived  in  the  Medicean 
palace.  The  first  Greek,  flannel  Chrysolorus, 
who  introduced  the  literary  treasures  of  his  country 
into  Italy,  received  an  appointment  as  teacher 
from  the  city  of  Florence,  in  1396.  The  Platonic 
Academy  was  founded,  and  all  the  writings  of 
Plato  were  translated. 

Though  there  had  previously  been,  as  we  have 
just  seen,  a  turning  of  thought  to  Roman  and 
Greek  antiquity,  the  movement  received  its  first 


150  THE    KEFOKMATION    DAWN. 

mighty  impulse  in  1453,  when  the  capture  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Turks  drove  many  Greek 
scholars  to  Italy.  The  way  had  been  prepared 
for  them  in  the  revived  interest  in  Greek  learning. 
They  were  accordingly  welcomed  b}"  noble  patron- 
age, and  under  its  fostering  care  became  for  a 
time  the  teachers  of  Christian  Europe.  The  in- 
terest in  antiquity  deepened  into  enthusiasm. 
Libraries  were  founded  and  manuscripts  were  col- 
lected Avith  great  ardor.  Several  of  the  Popes, 
without  scenting  danger,  became  generous  patrons 
of  ancient  learning  ;  Nicholas  V.  founded  the  cele- 
brated Vatican  Library,  and  collected  for  it  a  large 
number  of  Greek  and  Latin  manuscripts  ;  and, 
under  Leo  X. ,  Rome  became  a  centre  of  classical 
scholarship. 

The  work  of  these  Italian  humanists  has  been 
well  portrayed  by  Seebohm.  ' '  They  were  digging 
up  again,"  he  says,  "and  publishing,  by  means 
of  the  printing  press,  the  works  of  the  old  Greek 
and  Latin  writers,  and  they  found  in  them  some- 
thing to  their  taste  much  more  true  and  pure 
than  the  literature  of  the  Middle  Ages.  After 
reading  the  pure  Latin  of  the  classical  writers  thej^ 
were  disgusted  with  the  bad  Latin  of  the  monks  ; 
after  studjdng  Plato  they  were  disgusted  with 
scholastic  i^hilosophy.  Such  was  the  rottenness 
of  Rome  that  they  found  in  the  high  aspirations 
of  Plato  after  sj^iritual  truth  and  immortality  a 
religion  which  seemed  to  them  purer  than  the 
grotesque  form  of  Christianity  which  Rome  held 
out  to  them.  They  could  flatter  the  profligate 
Pope  as  all  but  divine  in  such  words  as  '  Sing  unto 
Sixtus  a  new  song,'  but  in  their  hearts  some  of 
them  scoffed,  and  doubted  whether  Christianity 
be  true  and  whether  there  is  life  after  death  for 
mankind."  * 

Seebohm's  "  Protestant  Revolution,"  p.  71. 


THE    REXAIS8AXCE.  151 

But  this  new  movement  was  not  to  l)e  confined 
to  Italy.  Eager  scholars  from  p]nglan(l,  Fi-a.nce, 
and  Germany  sat  at  the  feet  of  Italian  masters 
in  order  afterward  to  bear  beyond  the  Alps  the 
precious  seed  of  the  new  culture.  During  the 
reign  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  several  Oxford  stu- 
dents, among  whom  were  Linacre  and  Grocyn, 
visited  Florence  to  complete  their  studies.  Linacre 
received  instruction  along  with  Lorenzo's  own 
children,  one  of  whom  afterward  became  Leo  X. 
Returning  to  England,  they  gave  a  fresh  impetus 
to  the  study  of  the  Greek  language  and  literature. 
German  scholars,  like  Peter  lAider  and  Samuel 
Karoch,  introduced  the  new  learning  into  the 
German  universities,  ^^arious  cities — Strasburg, 
Nuremberg,  Augsburg,  and  others — became  centres 
of  culture,  where  literature  and  art  were  pursued 
with  engrossing  ardor. 

The  revival  of  learning  did  not  everywhere  fol- 
low the  same  lines  of  development  and  produce 
similar  results.  In  Italy,  classical  learning  be- 
came an  end  in  itself  ;  and  hence,  while  enlarging 
and  refining  culture,  it  tended  to  paganize  its  ad- 
herents. Ardor  for  anti(juity  ])ecame  intoxication. 
Infidelity  prevailed  in  the  highest  ranks  of  the 
Church  ;  Christianity  w^as  often  despised  as  a 
superstition  ;  and  immorality  abounded  in  shame- 
ful forms.  The  heathenism  of  Athens  was  repro- 
duced in  Christian  Rome.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  Leo  X.  himself  was  a  skeptic  ;  and 
unbelief  became  so  prevalent  that  the  Tenth 
Lateran  Council  judged  it  advisable  to  reaffirm 
the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  by  a 
special  decree. 

The  absence  of  moral  integrity  is  singularly 
reflected  in  the  works  of  Machiavelli,  particularly 
in  ' '  The  Prince, ' '  whom  he  advises  to  be  tinscru- 


152  THE    REFORMATIOX    DAWX. 

puloiis  in  the  maintenance  of  power.  Conscien- 
tious adherence  to  trutli  he  stigmatizes  as  being 
' '  superstitioush"  exact. "  "  The  present  manner 
of  hving, ' '  he  says,  "is  so  different  from  the  way 
that  ought  to  be  taken,  that  he  Avho  neglects  what 
is  done-,  to  follow  what  ought  to  be  done,  Avill  sooner 
learn  how  to  ruin  than  how  to  preserve  himself  ; 
for  a  tender  man,  and  one  that  desires  to  be  honest 
in  everything,  must  needs  run  a  great  hazard 
among  so  many  of  a  contrary  principle.  Where- 
fore it  is  necessary  for  a  prince  that  wishes  to  live, 
to  harden  himself,  and  learn  to  be  good  or  other- 
wise, according  to  the  exigence  of  his  affairs."  * 
His  writings,  as  he  explains  in  his  ' '  Letter  of 
Vindication,"  only  reflect  the  political  and 
ecclesiastical  life  of  the  time. 

Such  was  the  state  of  belief  and  morals  prevail- 
ing in  Rome  at  a  time  when  ancient  learning  and 
the  fine  arts  flourished.  It  Avas  pagan  antiquity 
revived  in  spirit  and  in  life.  Well  might  Raumer 
exclaim,  as  he  contemplated  the  facts,  "How 
strangely  united  in  one  and  the  same  land,  and  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  wdiat  is  most  splendid  and 
what  is  most  horrible  !  What  an  angelic  child 
Raphael  must  have  been,  yet  his  childhood  falls 
at  the  iniquitous  time  of  Alexander  VI.  Yea, 
how  often  in  one  and  the  same  hero  of  art  w' ere 
united  the  most  beautiful  and  the  most  hateful 
elements,  the  noblest  and  the  most  debased  im- 
pulses, pious  devotion,  and  detestable  sensuality  ! 
Into  what  sins  he  fell  and  sank,  when  his  love  for 
nature  and  antiquity  degenerated  into  unrestrained 
and  godless  lust,  and  his  art  as  his  life  became 
pagan."  f 

Among    the   Teutonic    nations,   particularly  in 

*  Machiavelli's  "  The  Prince,"  Chap.  XITI. 
t  Eaumer's  "  Geschichte  der  Padagogik." 


THE    RENAISSANCE.  153 

Germany,  Holland,  and  England,  the  revival  of 
learning  produced  far  more  salutary  results  than 
in  Italy.  The  deep  moral  earnestness  of  the  Teu- 
tonic race  preserved  it  from  moral  and  religious 
debasement.  After  a  time,  the  new  learning  was 
cultivated  with  as  much  zeal  north  as  south  of 
the  Alps  ;  but  its  results  were  utilized  in  the  in- 
terests of  a  purer  Christianity.  The  Greek  and 
He])rew  Scriptures  were  studied  as  well  as  the 
Latin  and  Greek  classics.  Critical  editions  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  were  published  by 
able  scholars,  and  thus  the  means  were  sup- 
plied for  discovering  and  correcting  ecclesiastical 
abuses. 

^.Agiicola  has  been  called  the  father  of  German 
humanism.  Born  in  1443,  near  Groningen,  he 
received  his  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at  Louvain  ; 
and  after  spending  some  time  in  Paris,  he  went  to 
Ferrara,  Italy,  in  1476,  where  he  attended  the 
lectures  of  Theodore  Beza,  on  the  Greek  language. 
His  learning  and  eloquence  gave  him  a  wide  repu- 
tation ;  and,  upon  his  return  to  his  native  country, 
several  cities  and  courts  vied  with  one  another  in ' 
the  effort  to  secure  his  services.  At  length,  upon 
the  solicitation  of  his  friend  Dalberg,  Bishop  of 
Worms,  he  accepted  a  professorship  at  Heidel- 
berg, where  for  three  years  he  delivered  lectures 
on  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome.  It  was 
through  his  labors,  in  large  measure,  that  the  new 
learning  was  transplanted  from  Italy  into  Ger- 
many. "  At  a  time, ' '  says  Raumer,  ' '  when  the 
worst  Latin  prevailed  in  German}^,  and  such  a 
degree  of  ignorance  that  good  Latin  was  not  in 
the  least  appreciated,  and  bad  taste  was  admired, 
it  was  Agricola  alone  who  began  to  feel  those  mis- 
takes, and  to  have  a  desire  for  abetter  form  of 
speech."     At  the  age  of  forty-one  he  began  the 


154  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

stud}'  of  Hebrew,  in  order  to  be  able  to  read  the 
Old  Testament  in  the  original. 

He  was  an  intelligent  educator,  and  exerted  no 
small  influence  in  improving  the  schools  of  his 
day.  He  declined  to  take  charge  of  a  school  at 
Antwerp,  but  he  wrote  the  authorities  a  letter  full 
of  sage  advice.  He  condemned  the  schools  of  the 
time,  characterizing  them  as  "  a  prison,  in  which 
there  are  blows,  tears,  and  groans,  without  end." 
''  It  is  necessary,"  he  continued,  "  to  exercise  the 
greatest  care  in  choosing  a  director  for  your  school. 
Take  neither  a  theologian  nor  a  so-called  rheto- 
rician, who  thinks  he  is  able  to  speak  of  every- 
thing without  understanding  anything  of  elo- 
quence. Such  people  make  in  school  the  same 
figure,  according  to  the  Greek  proverb,  that  a  dog 
does  in  a  bath.  It  is  necessary  to  seek  a  man  re- 
sembling the  phoenix  of  Achilles  ;  that  is,  who 
knows  how  to  teach,  to  speak,  and  to  act  at  the 
same  time.  If  you  know  such  a  man,  get  him 
at  nn}^  price  ;  for  the  matter  involves  the  future 
of  your  children,  whose  tender  youth  receives 
with  the  same  susceptilnlity  the  impress  of  good 
and  of  bad  examples." 

One  of  the  greatest  representatives  of  the  new 
learning  was  Reuchlin,  who  was  born  at  Pforz- 
heim, Germany,  in  1455.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  went  to  Paris,  where  he  studied  under  a  native 
Greek.  He  made  the  acquaintance  of  Wessel, 
whose  evangelical  views  were  not  without  influence 
upon  his  religious  opinions.  After  leaving  Paris, 
he  taught  Latin  and  Greek  at  Basel,  and  subse- 
(j[uently  he  became  a  professor  at  Tubingen.  He 
resided  for  a  time  at  Heidelberg,  and  became  a 
centre  for  the  propagation  of  Greek  scholarship. 
He  issued  several  elementary  Greek  books,  which 
were  used  in  Germany  many  years. 


THE    KENAISSANCE.  155 

But  his  studies  were  not  confined  to  the  Latin 
and  Greek  classics.  He  took  a  profound  interest 
in  the  Hebrew  language,  and  is  justly  regarded  as 
the  father  of  Heljrew  studies  in  Germany.  In 
1498  he  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  Rome,  where 
he  employed  all  his  leisure  in  studying  Hebrew, 
under  a  learned  Jew,  and  in  collecting  Greek  and 
Hebrew  manuscripts.  The  motive  that  urged 
him  to  prosecute  his  studies  in  Hebrew  is  ex- 
plained in  a  letter  to  Cardinal  Hadrian  :  "I  de- 
voted myself  to  the  Hel^rew  language  because  I 
perceived  the  great  value  which  it  would  have  for 
religion  and  true  theology.  To  this  end  I  have 
always  directed  my  labors,  and  continue  to  direct 
them  more  than  ever.  As  a  true  worshiper  of  our 
Lord,  I  have  done  all  for  the  restoration  and  glori- 
fication of  the  true  Christian  Church."  On  the 
publication  of  his  Hebrew  grammar  and  lexicon, 
in  1506,  the  first  work  of  the  kind  prepared  in 
Germany,  he  could  well  exclaim,  in  the  language 
of  Horace,  ' '  I  have  erected  a  monument  more 
durable  than  brass."  Melanchthon  was  his 
nephew  and  adopted  son  ;  and  Luther  wrote  him, 
in  appreciation  of  his  labors,  ' '  The  Lord  has 
been  at  work  in  you,  that  the  light  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture might  begin  to  shine  in  that  Germany  where 
for  so  many  years,  alas  !  it  was  not  only  stifled 
but  extinct. ' ' 

Erasmus,  born  in  Rotterdam,  in  1467,  was  per- ; 
haps  the  acutest  scholar  of  his  day.  In  his 
youth  he  gave  promise  of  the  eminence  he  was 
afterward  to  attain.  Agricola,  who  saw  him  at 
the  age  of  twelve,  was  so  impressed  by  the  young 
scholar's  appearance  and  precocity  that  he  said  to 
him,  "  You  will  one  day  become  a  great  man." 
And  his  teacher  at  De venter  once  enthusiastically 
embraced   him,    with   these   words:    "You   will 


156  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

one  day  attain  the  higliest  summits  of  knowl- 
edge. ' ' 

In  his  youth  Erasmus  was  persuaded  to  become 
an  Augustinian  monk,  and  was  afterward  ordained 
as  a  priest  by  the  Bishop  of  Utrecht.  He  soon 
found  conventual  life  entirely  unfitted  to  his  tastes 
and  character.  At  length  he  was  sent  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris  by  the  Bishop  of  Cambray.  To 
eke  out  his  meagre  allowance,  he  took  pupils  in 
Greek,  the  elements  of  which  he  had  acquired  by 
private  study.  He  indicates  his  ambition  at  this 
time  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  :  ' '  All  I  ask  for  ii^ 
leisure  to  live  wholly  to  God,  to  repent  of  the  sins 
of  my  foolish  youth,  to  study  Holy  Scripture, 
and  to  read  or  write  something  of  real  value." 
His  ardor  for  the  new  learning  is  evident  in  the 
declaration,  "  I  have  given  up  my  whole  soul  to 
Greek  learning,  and  as  soon  as  I  get  any  money  I 
shall  bu}"  Greek  books,  and  then  I  shall  buy  some 
clothes. ' ' 

At  various  times  he  visited  England,  France, 
German}^,  and  Italy,  and  everywhere  his  Avit, 
learning,  and  fame  secured  him  a  cordial  recep- 
tion. In  1497  he  went  to  England,  where  he  met 
Thomas  More,  then  a  young  man  of  twent}^ 
heard  Colet  lecture  at  Oxford,  and  admired  the 
learning  of  Linacre  and  Groc}^! — all,  like  himself, 
enthusiastic  humanists.  "I  have  found  in  Ox- 
ford," he  wrote,  "so  much  polish  and  learning 
that  now  I  hardly  care  about  going  to  Italy  at  all, 
save  for  the  sake  of  having  been  there.  AVhen  I 
listen  to  my  friend  Colet,  it  seems  like  listening 
to  Plato  himself.  Who  does  not  wonder  at  the 
vdde  range  of  Grocyn's  knowledge?  What  can 
l)e  more  searching,  deep,  and  refined  than  the 
judgment  of  Linacre?  When  did  nature  mould 
a  temper  more  gentle,  endearing,  and  ha])py  than 


THE    RENAISSANCE.  157 

the  temper  of  Thomas  More?"  Later  he  be- 
eame  a  lecturer  on  Greek  at  the  University  of 
Cambridge. 

As  he  traveled  from  country  to  country,  he 
visited  libraries,  collected  manuscripts,  and  toiled 
industriously  at  his  Greek.  He  read  the  Greek 
philosophers  and  poets,  studied  the  Greek  Chris- 
tian fathers,  translated  Greek  plays,  Plutarch,  and 
Lucian.  "  Beyond  all,"  to  use  the  words  of 
Froude,  ' '  mixing  as  he  did  in  every  kind  of  so- 
ciety, living  as  he  did  among  learned  professors, 
learned  theologians,  Parisian  poets  and  actors, 
fashionable  ladies,  })isliops,  men  and  women  of 
all  ranks  and  characters,  he  was  studying  the 
great  book  of  mankind,  without  acquaintance 
with  which  all  other  knowledge  is  dry  and  un- 
profitable." ^^  In  Italy  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Pope  Julius  11. ,  and  numbered  some  of  the 
cardinals  among  his  intimate  friends,  among  them 
Cardinal  de'  Medici,  who  afterward  became  Leo  X. 
Henry  VIII. ,  of  England,  was  his  friend  and 
patron. 

The  life  of  Erasmus  cannot  be  followed  further. 
He  was  acquainted  with  the  foremost  men  of  his 
day,  and  exerted  a  great  personal  influence 
through  his  recognized  ability  and  scholarship. 
Two  or  three  of  his  works  exhibited  the  spirit  of 
the  humanistic  learning,  and  embodied  the  ele- 
ments of  a  new  age.  One  of  these  works  was  the 
Encommm  Morise,  or  Praise  of  Folly,  suggested 
by  Sir  Thomas  More.  It  is  a  satire  upon  vari- 
ous classes  of  society.  The  ignorance,  folly,  and 
vice  of  the  representatives  of  the  Church  are  by 
no  means  spared.  Erasmus  calls  the  scholastic 
theologians  "a  proud,  susceptible  race.  They 
will   smother    me   under    six   hundred   dogmas. 

*  Froude's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  58. 


158  THE    REFORxMATION    DAWN. 

They  will  call  me  heretic,  and  bring  thunderbolts 
out  of  their  arsenals,  where  they  keep  whole  mag- 
azines of  them  for  their  enemies.  Still  they  are 
Folly's  servants,  though  they  disown  their  mis- 
tress. They  hve  in  the  third  heaven,  adoring 
their  own  persons  and  disdaining  the  poor  crawlers 
upon  earth.  They  are  surrounded  by  a  body- 
guard of  definitions,  conclusions,  corollaries,  prop- 
ositions explicit  and  propositions  implicit.  Vul- 
can's chains  will  not  bind  them.  They  cut  the 
links  with  a  distinction  as  with  the  stroke  of  an 
axe." 

On  the  priests  and  monks  he  is,  if  possible,  still 
more  severe  :  ''They  call  it  a  sign  of  holiness," 
he  says,  "to  be  unable  to  read.  They  bray  out 
the  Psalms  in  the  churches  like  so  many  asses. 
They  do  not  understand  a  word  of  them,  but  they 
fancy  the  sound  is  soothing  to  the  ears  of  the 
saints.  The  mendicant  friars  howl  for  alms  along 
the  street.  They  pretend  to  resemble  the  apostles, 
iind  they  are  filthy,  ignorant,  impudent  vaga- 
bonds. They  have  their  rules,  forsooth.  Yes, 
rules — how  many  knots,  for  instance,  there  may 
be  in  a  shoe-string,  how  their  coats  should  be  cut 
or  colored,  how  much  cloth  should  be  used  in 
their  hoods,  and  how  many  hours  they  may  sleep. 
But  for  all  else,  for  conduct  and  character,  they 
quarrel  with  each  other  and  curse  each  other. 
They  pretend  to  poverty,  but  they  steal  into 
honest  men's  houses  and  pollute  them,  and,  wasps 
as  they  are,  no  one  dares  refuse  them  admittance 
for  fear  of  their  stings.  They  hold  the  secrets  of 
every  family  through  the  confessional,  and  when 
they  are  drunk,  or  wish  to  amuse  their  compan}^, 
they  let  them  out  to  the  world."  * 

Of  still  more  importance  was  Erasmus's  edition 

*  Fronde's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  132. 


THE    RENAISSANCE.  159 

of  the  Greek  New  Testament,  accompanied  with  a 
Latin  translation  and  notes.  "  It  is  my  desire, ' ' 
he  said  in  the  preface,  ' '  to  lead  back  that  cold  dis- 
pute about  words  called  theology  to  its  real  foun- 
tain. Would  to  God  that  this  work  may  bear  as 
much  fruit  to  Christianity  as  it  has  cost  me  toil  and 
application."  This  work,  which  appeared  in  1516, 
made  Europe  acquainted  with  the  Gospel  as  it  was 
preached  by  Christ  and  His  apostles.  It  enabled 
the  people  to  compare  the  original  institution  of  the 
Church  with  the  imperial  organization  of  the  Pa- 
pacy, and,  especially  through  the  editor's  com- 
ments, to  understand  how  far  Christianity,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  had  departed 
from  its  pristine  simplicity  and  purity. 

Commenting,  for  example,  on  ' '  the  husband  of 
one  wife,"  in  Tim.  iii.  2,  Erasmus  says  :  "Be- 
cause in  an  age  when  priests  were  few  and  widely 
scattered,  St.  Paul  directed  that  no  one  should  be 
made  a  bishop  who  had  been  married  a  second 
time  ;  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  are  now  for- 
bidden to  marry  at  all.  Other  qualifications  are 
laid  down  by  St.  Paul  as  required  for  a  bishop's 
office,  a  long  list  of  them.  But  not  one  at  present 
is  held  essential,  except  this  one  of  abstinence 
from  marriage.  Homicide,  incest,  pirac}^,  sodomy, 
sacrilege — these  can  be  got  over,  but  marriage  is 
fatal.  There  are  priests  now  in  vast  numbers, 
enormous'^  herds  of  them,  seculars  and  regulars, 
and  it  is  notorious  that  very  few  of  them  are 
chaste.  The  great  proportion  fall  into  lust,  and  in- 
cest, and  open  profligacy." 

In  the  presence  of  forms  and  creeds,  Erasmus 
advocated  a  Christianity  of  the  heart  and  life.  He 
demanded,  not  theological  subtleties  about  the  pro- 
cession of  the  Si)irit,  Init  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit. 
Without  any  formal  statement  that  the  Scriptures 


160  THE    EEFORMATION    DAWN. 

are  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice  in  Chris- 
tianity, he  set  them  n])  as  the  standard  hy  Avhich 
to  test  the  Church  life  of  the  time.  The  errors 
and  views  of  ecclesiastics  were  strc^ngl}^  and  hravely 
pointed  out  in  connection  with  the  Scripture  j^as- 
sages  that  condemned  them.  No  other  method 
could  have  been  more  convincing  and  effective. 

In  the  presence  of  the  awakened  intellect  of 
Europe,  the  New  Testament  was  everywhere  eagerly 
received  and  devoured.  A  hundred  thousand 
copies  were  soon  sold  in  France  alone.  ' '  Tire  fire 
spread,"  says  Froude,  "  as  it  spread  behind  Sam- 
son's foxes  in  the  Philistines'  corn.  The.  clergy's 
skins  were  tender  from  long  impunity.  The}^ 
shrieked  from  pulpit  and  platform,  and  made  Eu- 
rope ring  with  their  clamor.  The  louder  they 
cried,  the  more  clearly  Europe  perceived  the  justice 
of  their  chastisement.  The  words  of  the  Bil)le  have 
been  so  long  familiar  to  us  that  we  can  hardly 
realize  what  the  effect  must  have  been  Avhen  the 
Gospel  was  ])rought  out  fresh  and  visible  Ijefore 
the  astonished  eyes  of  mankind."  * 

Such  was  the  Renaissance  in  its  beginnings,  with 
some  of  its  principal  leaders.  It  was  a  movement 
of  so  great  power  that,  overcoming  all  obstacles, 
it  made  progress  in  every  country  in  Europe.  The 
younger  generation  of  scholars,  many  of  the  no- 
bility, and  not  a  few  of  the  clergy,  wei-e  devoted 
to  the  new  learning.  Suddenly  the  intellectual 
horizon  was  immensely  extended.  ' '  For  the  first 
time, ' '  as  Taine  puts  it,  '  ^  men  opened  their  eyes 
and  saw. ' '  They  began  to  examine  and  think  for 
themselves  ;  and  with  this  freshly  awakened  criti- 
cal spirit  the  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  Papacy 
were  subject  to  scrutiny.  Errors  of  doctrine,  vices 
of  practice,   frauds   in  worship,   and  tyranny   in 

*Froude's  "  Life  aud  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  127. 


THE    EEXAIPSANCE.  161 

(.H-clesiastical  g«^verninent  l>eciime  more  and  more 
apparent.     The  fullness  of  time  had  at  last  come  ; 
only  the  prophet  was  still  lacking. 
11 


CHAPTER  III. 

PRELIMINARY    CONFLICTS. 

The  conditions  we  have  been  considering  make 
it  evident  that  a  new  era  of  progress  was  prepar- 
ing for  Europe.  Prophetic  voices,  announcing  a 
new  ecclesiastical  order  of  things,  were  not  want- 
ing. The  growing  power  and  intelligence  of  the 
jDCople  made  mediseval  conditions  less  and  less 
tolerable.  Over  all  Europe  there  were  preliminary 
skirmishes  between  the  various  conflicting  forces — 
prophecies  of  that  greater  conflict  which  was  soon 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  civil  and  religious  freedom 
for  the  modern  world. 

In  the  presence  of  the  growing  national  feeling, 
the  despotic  claims  of  the  Papacy  to  supreme 
temporal  judgment  and  authority  w^ere  more  and 
more  disregarded.  The  new  critical  spirit  pro- 
nounced the  "Donation  of  Constantine,"*  which 
had  for  centuries  served  as  a  bulwark  for  the  tem- 
poral claims  of  the  Papacy,  an  unmistakable  fabri- 
cation. The  authority  of  the  Isidorian  decretals 
was  likewise  undermined.  The  old  Roman  law 
was  re^dved  against  the  claims  of  the  Papacy,  and 
many  of  the  leading  scholars  of  Europe  held  to 
the  equality  of  the  secular  with  the  spiritual 
power.  Both  alike,  it  was  maintained,  Avere  or- 
dained of  God. 

The  attitude  of  the  nations  of  Europe  toward 
the  Papacy  is  illustrated  by  the  conflict  of  Philip 

*  Henderson's  "Historical  Documents  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  p.  319. 

(162) 


PKELIMINARV     CONFLICTS.  163 

IV.  of  France  and  Boniface  VIII.  When  the 
king  had  the  bishop  of  Pamiers  arrested,  the  Pope 
issued  against  him  the  bull  Ausculta,  Jili,  in 
which  the  Papal  independence  and  supremacy 
were  boldly  affirmed  "Know  then,  my  son," 
says  the  l)ull,  ''that  it  is  not  true  that  you 
have  no  superior  and  that  you  are  not  sub- 
ject to  the  supreme  Pontiff."  The  king,  sup- 
ported by  the  University  of  Paris,  burned  the  bull 
and  convoked  the  states  general.  The  king  was 
present  at  the  meeting  in  1302  ;  and  after  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  bull,  the  assembly  proclaimed  the 
complete  independence  of  the  crown.  The  follow- 
ing year  another  assembly  charged  Boniface  with 
heresy,  simony,  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and 
appealed  to  a  general  council  and  a  legitimate 
Pontiff. 

Another  exhibition  of  the  same  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence is  found  in  the  action  of  the  Frankfort 
Diet  of  1338.  Pope  Benedict  XIL,  continuing 
the  long  conflict  between  Louis  the  Bavarian  and 
the  Papacy,  demanded  the  emperor's  resignation 
of  his  royal  and  imperial  dignities.  It  was  an  ex- 
ercise of  absolute  Papal  supremacy.  In  the  law 
Licet  juris,  the  Diet  asserted  the  independence 
of  the  empire  :  ' '  We  declare  that  the  imperial 
dignity  and  power  come  directly  from  God  alone  ; 
and  that,  l^y  the  old  and  approved  right  and  cus- 
tom of  the  empire,  after  anyone  is  chosen  as  em- 
peror or  king  by  the  electors  of  the  empire  con- 
cordantly,  or  by  the  greater  part  of  them,  he  is, 
in  consequence  of  the  election  alone,  to  be  consid- 
ered and  called  true  king  and  emperor  of  the  Ro- 
mans, and  he  ought  to  be  obeyed  by  all  the  sub- 
jects of  the  empire.  And  he  shall  have  full  power 
of  administering  the  laws  of  the  empire  and  of 
doing  the  other  things  that  pertain  to  a  true  em- 


164  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

peror  ;  nor  does  he  need  the  approbation,  confirma- 
tion, authority,  or  consent  of  the  Apostohc  See  or 
anyone  else. ' '  * 

The  same  spirit  of  resistance  early  manifested 
itself  in  England.  The  ' '  Constitutions  of  Claren- 
don "  of  1164  declared  the  civil  courts  to  be  su- 
preme, and  required  all  final  appeals  to  be  made, 
not  to  the  Pope,  but  to  the  king.  The  aim  of 
these  ' '  Constitutions  ' '  was  to  correct  the  abuses 
of  the  ecclesiastical  courts.  In  the  conflict  be- 
tween John  and  Innocent  III.,  the  king  was  at 
first  disposed  to  laugh  at  the  pretensions  of  the 
Pope.  The  "Statute  of  Mortmain,"!  of  1279, 
put  a  check  upon  the  excessive  accunnilation  of 
land  in  the  hands  of  the  Church.  The  "  Statute 
of  Provisors ' '  checked  Papal  interference  with  the 
disposal  of  English  benefices.  The  ' '  Statute  of 
Pr£emunire ' '  prohibited  the  unauthorized  intro- 
duction of  Papal  bulls  into  the  kingdom.  The 
Enghsh  barons,  in  a  letter  to  Boniface  YIIL,  ab- 
solutely rejected  the  Papal  claim  of  supremacy 
over  the  crown.  ' '  This  letter, ' '  as  Hallam  re- 
marks, ' '  is  nearly  coincident  in  point  of  time  with 
that  of  the  French  nobility  ;  and  the  two  com- 
bined may  be  considered  as  a  joint  protestation  of 
both  kingdoms,  and  a  testimony  to  the  general 
sentiment  among  the  superior  ranks  of  the  laity. ' '  J 
Thus  over  all  Europe  the  growing  national  feeling 
led  to  active  resistance  against  the  despotic  claiins 
of  the  Papacy. 

Another  preliminary  conflict  was  tlie  repeated 
insurrection  of  the  peasants,  particularly  in  Ger- 
many. The  spreading  intelligence  opened  their 
eyes  to  the  hardships  of  their  lot,  and  led  them 


*  Henderson's  "  Historical  Documents,"'  p.  438. 
t  Henderson's  "  Historical  Documents,"  p.  148. 
X  Hallam's  "  Middle  Ages,"  p.  908. 


PRELIMINAKY    CONFLICTS.  165 

to  (Icterniinecl  tliougli  unfortunate  efforts  to  im- 
prove it.  The  peasants  were  subject  to  a  double 
bondage — one  to  the  priesthood,  and  the  other  to 
feudal  lords.  Both  were  galling  ;  but  of  the  two, 
the  ecclesiastical  bondage  was,  perhaps,  the  more 
exacting  and  cruel.  The  common  people  were  re- 
quired to  pay  tithes  of  all  the  products  of  their 
labor — "corn,  meadow^s,  pasture,  grass,  wood, 
colts,  calves,  lambs,  pigs,  geese,  and  chickens." 
And  their  share  of  the  profits  the  clergy  looked 
after  with  scrupulous  care.  In  addition  to  this, 
all  clerical  services  had  to  be  paid  for. 

This  feature  of  the  social  condition  of  German}^ 
(and  the  picture  is  equally  true  for  other  parts  of 
Europe)  is  forcibly  presented  by  Juan  de  Valdez, 
brother  of  the  Secretary  of  Charles  V.  ' '  I  see, ' ' 
he  says,  "  that  we  can  scarcely  get  anything  from 
Christ's  ministers  but  for  money  :  at  baptism, 
money  ;  at  marriage,  money ;  for  confession, 
money — no,  not  extreme  unction  without  money  ! 
They  wdll  ring  no  bells  without  money  ]  no  burial 
in  the  church  without  money  ;  so  that  it  seemeth 
that  Paradise  is  shut  up  from  them  that  have  no 
money.  ^  The  rich  are  buried  in  the  church,  the 
poor  in  the  churchyard.  The  rich  man  may  marr}' 
with  his  nearest  kin,  ])ut  the  poor  not  so,  al])eit  he 
be  ready  to  die  for  love  of  her.  The  rich  may  eat 
flesh  in  Lent,  but  the  poor  may  not,  al])eit  fish, 
]>erhaps,  l)e  much  dearer.  The  rich  may  readily 
get  large  indulgences,  but  the  poor  none,  ])ecause 
he  wanteth  money  to  pay  for  them. "  ^ 

In  Germany  the  i)easant  was  a  feudal  tenant  ; 
but  after  the  Black  Death,  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, had  greatly  reduced  the  number  of  laborers, 
the  exactions  of  the  feudal  lords  became  more  op- 
pressive.    The  peasants  were  reduced  i^ractii-dly 

*  Seebobtii's  "Protestant  lievolution,"  p.  60. 


166  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

to  a  condition  of  slavery  :  and  inasmuch  as  there 
was  no  strong  central  government,  to  which  the}^ 
might  appeal,  the}^  had  no  redress  or  protection. 
Their  rights  to  the  common  pastures,  to  the  wild 
game,  and  to  the  fish  in  the  rivers  were  denied 
them.  At  all  times  the}^  were  subject  to  insolent 
and  tyrannous  orders  from  their  lords,  for  whose 
wealth  they  had  to  toil  and  to  whose  luxuries 
they  had  to  minister.  And  when  a  peasant  died, 
the  agent  of  the  petty  tyrant  came  to  carry  off,  l^y 
feudal  custom,  the  best  chattel  the  widoAv  pos- 
sessed— perhaps  the  horse  or  cow  upon  which  the 
family  were  dependent. 

The  first  of  the  peasant  uprisings  was  that  of 
the  four  Forest  Cantons  of  Switzerland.  These 
cantons  acknoAvledged  the  authority  of  the  em- 
pire ;  but  when  the  Hapsburgs  ascended  the 
imperial  throne,  they  attempted  to  subject  them 
to  Austria.  The  Austrian  governors  abused  their 
position  cruelly  to  wrong  and  oppress  the  free- 
dom-loving Swiss.  At  length  their  tyranny  be- 
came intolerable  ;  and  the  bold  peasantry,  under 
the  leadership  of  Walter  Fiirst,  Werner  Stauff- 
acher,  and  Arnold  ^lelchthal,  formed  a  league  for 
the  defense  of  their  liberties.  The  spirit  that 
animated  them  is  well  presented 
"  Wilhelm  Tell :  " 


"  Yes,  there  is  a  limit  to  the  despot's  power  ! 
When  the  oppressed  looks  round  in  vain  for  justice, 
When  his  sore  burden  may  no  more  be  borne. 
With  fearless  heart  he  makes  appeal  to  heaven, 
And  thence  brings  down  his  everlasting  rights, 
Which  there  abide,  inalienably  his, 
And  indestructible  as  are  the  stars. 
Natirre's  primeval  state  returns  again. 
Where  man  stands  liostile  to  his  fellow-man  ; 
And  if  all  other  means  shall  fail  his  need. 
One  last  resource  remains — his  own  good  sw'ord." 


PRELIMINARY    CONFLICTS.  167 

After  Tell,  according  to  the  legend,  had  slain 
Gessler,  the  most  ruthless  of  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernors, the  castles  were  attacked  and  destroyed, 
and  the  tyrants  driven  from  the  country.  A  little 
later,  in  1315,  the  Austrian  army,  sent  to  subdue 
the  brave  Swiss,  was  signall}^  defeated  in  the  battle 
of  ^lorgarten*. 

The  peasant  insurrections  in  Germany  are  too 
numerous  to  be  followed  in  detail.  In  1460  the 
peasantry  rebelled  against  new  burdens  imposed 
by  their  feudal  lord,  the  Abbot  of  Kempten.  In 
1476  thousands  of  the  peasant  class  in  the 
bishopric  of  ^^^iirzburg  gathered  in  revolt  around 
Hans  Boheim,  who  preached  that  there  was  to  be 
an  end  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and  that 
all  men  w^re  to  live  as  brethren.  Several  wide- 
spread conspiracies,  w^hich  successively  chose  the 
peasant's  clog  as  their  martial  standard,  are  desig- 
nated as  the  Buiidschiih.  The  first  originated  in 
Alsace,  in  1493,  and  aimed  at  emancipating  the 
peasantry  from  clerical  and  Roman  courts,  and 
from  excessive  taxation.  It  was  early  betrayed, 
and  its  leaders  executed.  A  few  years  later,  in 
1505,  another  conspiracy  w^as  formed  in  the  region 
about  Speyer.  It  sought  to  elevate  the  peasantry, 
to  acknowledge  only  the  emperor  as  sovereign,  to 
do  away  wdth  the  domination  of  Rome,  and  to 
make  the  forests  and  rivers  free  to  all.  ' '  Only 
what  is  just  before  God,"  was  the  motto  upon 
their  standard.  This  conspiracy  was  likewise  dis- 
covered and  suppressed.  Again,  in  1513,  a  league 
w^as  formed  under  Joss  Fritz,  in  Wiirtemberg,  and 
the  year  follow^ing  there  were  uprisings  in  Carinthia 
and  Styria,  all  which  were  suppressed  by  the 
nobility  wdth  the  greatest  cruelty. 

In  the  face  of  this  general  dissatisfaction  among 
the  peasant  class  of  Germany,  the  nobles  found  it 


168  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

necessary  to  form  the  Swabian  League.  The  ex- 
isting social  condition  is  clearly  portrayed  in  the 
proclamation  issued  by  the  League.  ' '  Since  the 
land  of  Swabia,"  it  saj's,  "and  all  over  the  em- 
pire, among  the  vassals  and  poor  people,  disturl)- 
ances  and  insurrections  are  taking  place,  Avith 
setting  up  of  the  standard  of  the  Bundschuh  and 
other  ensigns  against  the  authority  of  their  natu- 
ral lords  and  rulers,  with  a  view  to  the  destruction 
of  the  nobles  and  all  honorable  persons,  the 
noble  and  knightly  orders  have,  therefore,  agreed, 
whatever  shall  happen,  to  support  each  other 
against  every  such  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
common  man." 

The  great  peasant  revolution  of  1525,  which  has 
often  been  erroneously  ascribed  to  the  Reforma- 
tion, was  but  another  manifestation  of  the  pro- 
found discontent  among  the  lower  classes  of 
people.  The  twelve  articles,  in  which  the  peas- 
ants present  their  demands  and  set  forth  their 
grievances,  are  substantiall)^  those  of  the  old 
Bundsckuh.  It  was  deliverance  from  ecclesiastical 
and  feudal  tyranny  that  they  sought.  Among 
these  demands  were  :  1.  The  right  to  choose  their 
own  pastors  ;  2.  The  payment  of  tithes  of  grain, 
but  of  nothing  else  ;  3.  Freedom  from  serf  bond- 
age ;  4.  Liberty  to  hunt  and  fish  ;  5.  No  ad- 
ditional service  to  be  required  without  money  re- 
muneration ;  6.  Rent  to  be  proportioned  to  the 
value  of  the  land  ;  7.  Punishment  for  crimes  to 
be  fixed  ;  8.  The  abrogation  of  death  gifts,  or  the 
law  of  heriot,  which  permitted  the  feudal  lord  to 
take  away  the  best  chattel  of  a  deceased  tenant ; 
and,  9.  Any  of  these  articles  proved  to  be  contrary 
to  Scripture  to  be  null  and  void. 

These  demands  of  the  peasants  were  just  and 
right ;  but  in  the  attempt  to  maintain  them  by 


im;i:!.imina1xV  conflicts.  169 

force  of  arni!^,  the  peasant  armies,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  religious  or  communistic  fanatics,  were 
often  guilty  of  gross  excesses  and  wrongs.  A 
reign  of  anarchy  threatened  Europe.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  will  be  readily  under- 
st(^od  why  Luther  and  Melanchthon,  though 
sympathizing  with  the  oppressed  condition  of  the 
l)easantry,  still  urged,  even  in  violent  language,  the 
civil  rulers  to  sup[)ress  the  insurrection  with  the 
sword.  In  the  civil  war  that  followed,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  one  hundred  thousand  peasants  lost 
their  lives.  The  chains  of  tyranny  were  riveted 
on  the  peasant  class  for  three  more  centuries. 

In  France,  the  social  disaffection  of  the  peas- 
antry manifested  itself  in  the  insurrection  of  the 
Jacquerie,  in  1358.  No  other  peasantry  in  Europe 
was  sul)ject  to  greater  Avrongs  than  that  of  France. 
They  were  burdened  l)y  the  taxes  (^f  their  feudal 
lords  ;  they  were  disdained  l)y  the  trading  class  ; 
the)^  were  pillaged  by  the  soldiers  ;  they  were 
flayed  by  the  hierarchy.  After  the  battle  of 
Poitiers,  the  noblemen  Avho  had  l)een  captured 
by  the  English  cruelly  exacted  additional  sums 
from  their  serfs  in  order  to  pay  their  ransom.  At 
length  the  oppressed  peasants  grew  desperate ; 
and,  rising  in  insurrection,  they,  for  a  few  weeks, 
executed  a  terrible  vengeance  upon  their  oppres- 
sors. They  sacked  and  l)urned  the  castles  of  their 
lords,  and  in  their  fury  slew  even  women  and 
children.  But  soon  the  nobles  attacked  them, 
and  visited  upon  them  a  temble  retribution.  The 
peasants,  poorly  armed  with  iron-shod  sticks, 
knives,  and  clubs,  were  no  match  for  the  mailed 
knights.  The  insurrectionists  were  almost  ex- 
terminated and  several  provinces  were  left  almost 
deserts. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1381,  there  was  in  England 


170  THE    REFOEMATTON    DAWN. 

a  widespread  peasant  revolt,  known  in  histor}^  as 
Wat  Tyler' s  rebellion.  The  i)easantry  were  restive 
under  restrictive  legislation,  following  the  great 
plague  of  1348.  John  Ball,  "a  mad  priest  of 
Kent,"  as  Froissart  called  him,  preached  against 
the  social  inequalities  of  the  time,  and  inflamed 
the  people  with  a  sense  of  tlieir  wrongs.  '^AVhy 
do  they  hold  us  in  serfage?"  he  exclaimed.  "  If 
we  all  came  of  the  same  father  and  mother,  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  how  can  they  say  or  prove  that 
they  are  better  than  we,  if  it  be  not  that  they 
make  us  gain  for  them  by  our  toil  what  they 
spend  in  their  pride?  They  are  clothed  in  velvet 
and  warm  in  their  furs  and  their  ermines,  while 
we  are  covered  with  rags.  They  have  wine  and 
spices  and  fair  bread  ;  and  we,  oat- cake  and  straw, 
and  water  to  drink.  They  have  leisure  and  fine 
houses  ;  w^e  have  pain  and  labor,  the  rain  and 
the  wind  in  the  fields.  And  yet  it  is  of  us  and 
of  our  toil  that  these  men  hold  their  state. ' '  The 
growing  spirit  of  the  age  was  expressed  in  the 
popular  couplet  : 

"  When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span, 
Who  was  then  the  gentleman  ?  " 

The  immediate  occasion  of  the  insurrection  was 
the  lev3dng  of  a  head  tax,  which  proved  very 
onerous.  A  brutal  collector  in  Kent  grossly  in- 
sulted the  daughter  of  Wat  Tjder,  who  seized  a 
hammer  and  struck  the  ruffian  dead.  A  hundred 
thousand  men  gathered  about  Tyler,  and  after  en- 
tering Canterbury  and  pillaging  the  archl)ishop's 
palace,  they  moved  upon  London.  The  revolt 
spread  through  all  the  southern  counties  of  Eng- 
land. The  peasants  demanded  (^f  the  king  free- 
dom from  feudal  service,  a  uniform  rate  of  rent  to 
be  fixed  l)y  Parliament,   free  trade,  and    uncon- 


PRELIMINARY    CONFLICTS.  171 

(litioiial  pardon  for  all  wlio  had  taken  part  in  the 
rebellion.  The  king  promised  them  full  redress  of 
their  grievances ;  but,  when  in  a  parley  Wat 
Tyler  was  treacherously  slain  by  the  Ma3"or  of 
London,  the  revolt  collapsed,  and,  as  usual,  many 
of  the  insurgents  were  afterward  ruthlessly  put  to 
death. 

The  revival  of  learning,  as  might  be  expected, 
did  not  go  unchallenged.  The  conservative  ele- 
ment in  the  Church,  j)articularly  the  Dominican 
monks,  scented  danger  in  the  new  learning.  In 
their  opposition  to  the  humanists,  they  often 
showed  an  ignorance  as  gross  as  their  hatred  was 
venomous.  They  protested  that  all  heresies  origi- 
nated in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  especially  in  the  lat- 
ter. "The  New  Testament,"  said  one  of  them, 
' '  is  a  book  full  of  serpents  ,and  thorns.  Greek  is 
a  new  and  recently  invented  language,  and  we 
must  be  on  our  guard  against  it.  As  for  Hebrew, 
my  dear  brethren,  it  is  certain  that  all  who  learn 
it  immediately  become  Jew^s. ' '  -^ 

Even  the  universities  were  generally  hostile  to 
the  humanistic  learning.  Though  the  students 
were  often  disposed  to  greet  the  humanists  as 
' '  messengers  from  heaven, ' '  the  faculties  of  in- 
struction, with  their  w^^l-known  conservatism, 
stigmatized  them  as  ' '  preachers  of  perversion  ' ' 
and  ' '  winnowers  of  the  devil' s  chaff. ' '  The  fac- 
ulty of  theology  in  the  University  of  Paris  did 
not  scruple  to  declare  to  Parhament  that  ' '  re- 
ligion is  ruined,  if  you  permit  the  study  of  Greek 
and  Hebrew."  The  University  of  Cologne  dis- 
tinguished itself  above  all  others  in  its  uncom- 
promising hostility  to  Greek  and  Hebrew.  ' '  At 
this  period,"  says  Sir  William  Hamilton,  "the 
lectures  and  disputations,    the  examinations  and 

*  D'Aubigne's  "  Ilistorj'  of  the  Reformation,"  I.,  p.  67 


172  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

honors,  of  the  -different  faculties,  required  only  an 
acquaintance  with  the  barbarous  Latinity  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  new  philology  was  thus  not 
only  a  hors  cfoeuvre  in  the  academical  system,  or, 
as  the  Leipsic  masters  expressed  it,  '  a  fifth  wheel 
in  the  chariot ; '  it  was  abominated  as  a  novelt}^ 
that  threw  the  ancient  learning  into  discredit, 
diverted  the  studious  from  the  universities,  and 
rendered  contemptible  the  once  honored  distinction 
of  a  degree."  * 

Reuchlin  was  among  the  first  to  feel  the  venom 
of  Dominican  persecution.  Because  of  his  He- 
brew studies  and  his  tolerance  for  Hebrew  litera- 
ture, which  the  theologians  of  Cologne  desired  to 
have  burned,  he  was  accused  of  a  secret  leaning 
to  Judaism,  and  threatened  with  the  dungeon  of 
the  Inquisition.  The  Dominicans  organized  a 
tribunal  at  Mayence,  and,  after  formally  condemn- 
ing the  writings  of  Reuchlin,  consigned  them  to 
the  fiames.  The  friends  of  progress  in  Germany 
and  other  parts  of  Europe  rallied  to  the  support 
of  the  great  humanist ;  and  when  the  matter  was 
referred  to  the  Pope,  Reuchlin  was  declared  inno- 
cent, and  the  fanatical  monks  were  condemned  to 
pa}^  the  cost  of  investigation. 

One  of  the  able  champions  of  Reuchlin  and  of 
the  humanistic  movement  was  Ulrich  von  Hutten. 
Like  Erasmus,  he  had  spent  his  early  years  in  a 
monastery,  from  which  he  fled  to  become  a  stu- 
dent at  Erfurt,  Cologne,  and  Frankfort-on-the- 
Oder.  His  talent  for  satire,  by  which  he  gained 
the  ear  of  Germany,  soon  manifested  itself.  He 
contended  with  a  noble  enthusiasm  for  the  na- 
tional unity  of  Germany  and  for  emancipation  from 
the  tyranny  of  Rome.  He  was  one  of  the  au- 
thors of  the  Epistolse  Obscurorum  Virorum  (1514), 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  53,  p.  185. 


PRELIMINARY    C()>FLICTS.  175 

winch  uiiinaskcd  in  a  striking  way  the  ignorance 
and  innnorahty  of  the  monks.  These  letters  were 
written  in  the  barbarous  Latin  then  in  use  in  the 
monasteries,  and,  thoiigli  Leo  X.  forbade  them  to 
1)6  read,  they  were  widely  circulated.  Few  satires 
have  ever  proved  more  effective  in  discrediting 
their  victims. 

But  this  was  not  all.  Hutten  assailed  the  abuses 
and  corruptions  of  the  Roman  hierarchy  in  vari- 
ous treatises,  both  in  prose  and  verse.  He  w^as  one 
of  the  most,  effective  polemic  writers  at  the  l:>egin- 
ning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  on  account  of 
his  philippics  against  Rome,  he  "was  called  the 
German  Demosthenes.  His  ' '  Roman  Trinity  ' '  is 
an  attack  of  tremendous  force  :  ' '  Three  things 
keep  Rome  in  power:  the  authority  of  the  Pope, 
the  bones  of  saints,  and  the  traffic  in  indulgences. 
Three  things  are  banished  from  Rome:  simplicity, 
temperancjc,  and  piety.  Three  things  the  Ro- 
mans trade  in:  Christ,  ecclesiastical  benefices,  and 
women.  Three  things  are  disliked  in  Rome:  a 
general  council,  a  reformation  of  the  clergy,  and 
the  fact  that  the  Germans  are  beginning  to  open 
their  eyes.  Three  things  pilgrims  usually  bring 
back  from  Ronie:  a  soiled  conscience,  a  sick  stom- 
ach, and  an  empty  purse.  Three  things  have  kept 
Germany  from  getting  wisdom:  the  stupidity  of 
the  princes,  the  decay  of  learning,  and  the  super- 
stition of  the  people."*  Luther  himself  has 
nothing  more  forcible  than  this  ei)igrainmatic  in- 
dictment by  Hutten. 

Erasnuis  boldly  espoused  the  cause  of  Reuchlin. 
In  a  letter  to  Cardinal  Raphael,  he  says  :  ' '  In  sup- 
porting Reuchlin  you  will  earn  the  gratitude  of 
every  man  of  letters  in  Germany.  It  is  to  him 
really  that  Germany  owes  such  knowledge  as  it  has 

*  Schaff's  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  VI.,  p.  198. 


174  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

of  Greek  and  Hebrew.  He  is  a  learned,  accom- 
plished man,  respected  by  the  emperor,  honored 
among  his  own  people,  and  blameless  in  life  and 
character.  All  Europe  is  crying  shame  that  so  ex- 
cellent a  person  should  be  harassed  by  a  detesta- 
l)le  prosecution,  and  all  for  a  matter  as  absurd  as 
the  ass's  shadow  of  the  proverb.  Anyone  who 
will  give  us  Reuchlin  back,  safe  and  sound,  will 
deserve  all  our  blessings." 

Erasmus  liimself  was  the  subject  of  clerical  at- 
tacks scarcely  less  virulent.  His  New  Testa- 
ment and  Encomium  Morise  were  telling  blows, 
and  nothing  l)ut  the  patronage  of  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical princes  saved  him  from  the  dungeon  or 
stake.  ' '  The  clergy, ' '  says  Fronde,  ' '  at  first  were 
stunned.  AMien  they  collected  themselves,  they 
l^egan  in  the  usual  way  to  cry  antichrist  and 
heresy,  and  clamor  for  sword  and  fagot.  .  .  Most 
fools  and  many  women  were  on  the  clergy's  side, 
and  a  party  which  has  the  fools  at  its  back  has 
usually  a  majority  of  numbers.  Bishops  fulmina- 
ted. Universities,  Cambridge  and  Oxford  among 
them,  for1)ade  students  to  read  Erasmus's  writings, 
or  l)ooksellers  to  sell  them.  Erasmus  himself  was 
safe  from  prosecution  while  he  was  protected  by 
the  Pope  and  the  civil  governments,  and  hard  as 
he  had  struck,  he  had  said  nothing  for  which  the 
church  courts  could  openly  punish  him." 

There  was  a  loud  clamor  against  Erasmus  at  the 
English  universities.  At  Oxford  there  were  two 
parties  styling  themselves  Greeks  and  Trojans. 
The  latter,  who  were  in  an  enormous  majority, 
represented  the  conservative  or  estal^lished  order 
of  things,  and  but  for  royal  interference  would 
have  carried  the  day.  Henry  VIII.  was  not  only 
a  humanist  himself,  but  a  personal  friend  of  Eras- 
mus.    Accordingly,  when  he  learned  the  state  of 


PKELIMIXARY    CONFLICTS.  I/-) 

things  at  Oxford,  lie  had  a  letter  addressed  by  Sir 
Thomas  More  to  the  governing  body  of  the  uni- 
versity. Its  tenor  may  l)e  gathered  from  a  single 
paragraph.  "  I  heard  lately,"  says  the  monarch, 
' '  that  eitlier  in  some  fool' s  f rohc  or  from  your 
disUke  to  the  study  of  Greek,  a  clique  had  been 
formed  among  you  calling  themselves  Trojans  ; 
that  one  of  you,  who  had  more  years  than  wisdom, 
had  st3ded  himself  Priam,  another  Hector,  another 
Paris,  and  so  forth  ;  and  that  the  object  was  to 
throw  ridicule  on  the  Greek  language  and  litera- 
ture. Grecians  are  to  be  mocked  and  jeered  at  by 
Trojans,  whose  laughter  betrays  their  ignorance. 
This  action  of  yours  is  foolish  in  itself,  and  gives 
an  unpleasing  impression  of  your  general  intelli- 
gence." ^  It  was  in  this  ungentle  Avay  that  the 
enemies  of  Erasmus  at  the  English  universities 
were  put  to  silence  and  shame. 

Thus,  in  various  ways,  the  new  and  the  old  were 
coming  into  inevitable  conflict  in  all  parts  of  Eu- 
rope. The  leading  nations  were  rejecting  Papal 
dictation,  and  insisting  on  working  out  their  own 
destiny  without  foreign  interference.  The  com- 
mon people  were  sighing  for  deliverance  from  feu- 
dal and  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  Humanism  was 
invading  the  strongholds  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition. In  all  this  we  see  the  unrest  and  anguish 
that  always  attend  the  birth  of  a  new  era  in  the 
Avorld'  s  history.  But  the  decisive  battle,  in  which 
all  the  hostile  forces  were  united  and  opposed  to 
each  other,  was  yet  to  be  fought. 

t  Froude'b  "Life  uud  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  139. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

BEGINNING    OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY. 

In  the  midst  of  the  turmoils  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  God  was  preparing,  all 
unknown  to  the  anxious  and  burdened  multitude, 
a  leader  for  His  peo]3le.  It  was  Martin  Luther,  a 
lowly  miner's  son,  who  was  born  at  Eisleben, 
November  10th,  1483.  In  this  case,  as  so  often  in 
the  long  course  of  sacred  history,  God  chose  a 
humble  agent  to  accomplish  His  mighty  purposes. 
The  great  leaders  of  the  Jewish  people  in  Old 
Testament  times — Moses  and  David — were  shep- 
herds. The  most  of  that  noble  circle  to  whom 
Jesus  committed  the  great  task  of  spreading  the 
Gospel  were  fishermen.  Through  the  hard  disci- 
pline of  poverty  and  toil,  the  prophets  of  God  in 
every  age  have  usually  received  the  strength  and 
courage  to  fulfill  their  divine  mission. 

The  early  career  of  the  great  reformer  admirably 
fitted  him  for  the  work  he  was  to  perform.  The 
struggles  of  his  early  life  imparted  strength  and 
solidity  to  his  character.  He  was  brought  up  in 
an  atmosphere  of  deeph'  earnest  but  austere  piety. 
His  father  and  mother,  though  strict  and  harsh  in 
their  family  discipline,  were  godly  people.  His 
early  school  days  at  jNIansfield  were  darkened  by 
harsh  discipline  and  crude  methods  of  instruction. 
On  slight  provocation  the  rod  was  mercilessly  used; 
and  Luther  himself  records  that  he  was  beaten 
(176) 


BEGINNING    OF    REFOKMATION    IN    GERMANY.     177 

fifteen  times  in  one  forenoon  for  not  being  able  to 
recite  what  had  not  been  taught  him. 

Destined  by  his  thoughtful  father  to  a  learned 
career,  he  was  sent,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  to  the 
school  at  INIagdeburg,  conducted  by  the  Brethren 
of  the  Common  Life.  This  organization,  it  will  be 
remembered,  devoted  itself  to  the  work  of  preach- 
ing and  teaching.  Though  suffusing  their  instruc- 
tion with  a  genuine  spirit  of  jnety,  the  Brethren 
were  at  this  period  friendly  to  the  revival  of  learn- 
ing. They  promoted  the  study  of  Latin  and 
Greek  ;  and  thus,  in  every  way,  their  schools  were 
among  the  best  of  that  age.  Their  influence  on 
the  ambitious  boy,  hitherto  accustomed  to  incon- 
siderate severity,  must  have  been  encouraging. 

A  year  later  Luther  passed  to  Eisenach,  where 
his  secondary  training  was  completed.  For  a  time 
he  supplemented  the  meagre  support  provided  by 
his  father  l)y  begging,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  time,  ' '  a  little  bread  for  the  love  of  God. ' ' 
Here  he  was  received  into  the  home  of  Ursula 
Cotta,  a  kind  and  intelligent  Avoman  who  had  been 
attracted  by  his  singing,  and  for  the  first  time  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  observe  and  acquire  the  re- 
fined manners  of  a  patrician  household.  The 
school  at  Eisenach  was  presided  over  by  John 
Trebonius,  a  learned  humanist,  whose  spirit  is  ex- 
hibited in  his  hal:)it  of  removing  his  cap  in  the 
presence  of  his  pupils,  recognizing  in  them  the  fu- 
ture magistrates,  chancellors,  and  learned  doctors 
of  Germany.  His  methods  of  instruction  were  so 
excellent  that  Luther,  many  years  afterAvard,  com- 
mended them  to  ]Melanchthon.  It  was  a  fortunate 
circumstance  that,  in  his  early  training,  the  re- 
former breathed  the  atmosphere  of  the  new  learn- 
ing. 

In  1501  Luther  entered  the  Universitv  of  Er- 
12 


178  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

flirt,  which,  founded  a  hundred  years  l:)efore,  was 
at  this  time  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in  Ger- 
many. Unlike  many  other  universities  of  the  day, 
it  had  welcomed  the  study  of  the  Latin  and  Greek 
classics.  The  first  l)ook  that  was  published  in 
Greek  type  in  Germany  was  printed  at  Erfurt. 
John  Crotus  Rubeanus,  who  became  rector  of  the 
university  in  1520,  was  a  leading  humanist,  and 
collaborated  witli  Hutten  in  preparing  the  Epis- 
tol%  Obscurormn  Virorum.  Though  Luther  did 
not  neglect  the  study  of  the  Latin  classics,  particu- 
larly Cicero,  Virgil,  Plautus,  and  Livy,  he  devoted 
himself  chiefly  to  philosophy.  He  was  thus  intro- 
duced to  the  subtleties  of  scholasticism,  and  de- 
veloped unusual  powers  as  a  debater.  In  1502  he 
took  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  three 
years  later  that  of  Master  of  Arts.  The  conferring 
of  the  latter  degree  was  attended  with  a  great  deal 
of  ceremony.  "What  a  glorious  and  exciting 
time  we  used  to  have  of  it, ' '  he  once  said,  ' '  when 
they  conferred  the  degree  of  Master  and  honored 
the  recipients  with  a  torch-light  procession  ;  I  hold 
that  no  temporal  worldly  happiness  was  equal  to 
that. ' '  The  talents  of  Luther  Avere  the  admiration 
of  the  university.  Once  very  sick  and  in  fear  of 
death,  he  was  comforted  by  an  aged  i^riest.  ' '  My 
dear  bachelor,  do  not  despair  ;  you  will  not  die  of 
this  illness  ;  our  God  will  yet  make  a  great  man  of 
you,  and  you  shall  comfort  many  people. ' ' 

Luther  was  the  most  German  of  Germans.  In 
him  were  embodied  the  noblest  qualities  of  his 
race.  He  possessed  a  deeply  religious  nature, 
which  was  developed,  first,  in  the  atmosphere  of 
austere  piety,  which  pervaded  his  father's  home, 
and,  secondly,  in  his  early  education,  which  inclu- 
ded instruction  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,   and  the  Ten   Commandments.      In   the 


BEGINNING    OF    KEFOHMATION    IN    GERMANY.     17^) 

library  of  the  University  of  Erfurt  he  first  saw  a 
complete  copy  of  the  Bible,  to  which  he  was  sub- 
sequently to  devote  so  much  earnest  study.  The 
sudden  death  of  a  friend  brought  him  to  serious 
retlection  ;  and  when  shortly  afterward  he  was 
terrified  in  a  violent  thunderstorm,  he  fell  to  the 
ground  and  exclaimed  :  ' '  Help  me,  dear  Saint 
Anna,  I  will  become  a  monk. ' '  This  was  a  turn- 
ing point  in  his  life — a  necessary  step  in  that  mar- 
velous course  of  training  which  Avas  to  make  him 
the  prophet  of  his  people. 

In  1505  he  entered  the  Augustinian  convent  of 
mendicant  friars  at  Erfurt.  He  submitted,  with- 
out a  murmur,  to  the  most  menial  duties.  With 
a  bag  upon  his  back,  the  bi'illiant  young  scholar, 
who  had  lately  been  the  pride  of  the  university, 
went  begging  from  door  to  door.  He  was  exem- 
plary and  zealous  in  the  religious  exercises  of  the 
convent.  No  one  surpassed  him  in  prayers,  vigils, 
fasting,  and  self-mortification.  ' '  If  ever  a  monk, ' ' 
he  said  afterward,  ' '  got  to  Heaven  by  monkery,  I 
w^ould  have  gotten  there. ' '  But  all  his  monastic 
zeal  brought  him  no  peace  of  mind  ;  he  was  bur- 
dened with  a  sense  of  sin  and  a  consciousness  of 
his  alienation  from  God. 

In  his  condition  of  spiritual  depression  and 
agony,  John  Staupitz,  the  vicar-general  of  the  Au- 
gustinian order,  whom  we  have  already  learned  to 
know  as  one  of  the  Geirman  mystics,  became  his 
loving  counselor.  Caring  little  for  the  forms  and 
doctrines  of  the  Papacy,  Staupitz  made  the  love  of 
God  the  centre  of  his  l:)elief  and  life.  He  taught 
Luther  to  think  of  God,  not  as  an  exacting  law- 
giver and  judge,  but  as  a  loving  Father.  He  en- 
couraged him  to  seek  peace,  not  in  tormenting 
penances,  but  in  a  loving  trust  in  Christ,  whom 
God  sent  into  the  world  to  be  a  propitiation  for  sin. 


180  THE    REFOEMATIOX    DAWN. 

At  the  same  time  he  encouraged  the  young  monk 
in  a  dihgent  study  of  the  Scriptures.  Gradually 
the  Ught  dawned  upon  Luther'  s  anxious  spirit, 
and  before  he  left  the  monastery  at  the  end  of 
three  years,  "  his  internal  struggles  ended,"  to  use 
the  words  of  Kostlin,  "in  a  cordial  acceptance  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  his  only  Saviour,  and  his  confi- 
dence in  his  good  works,  as  a  meritorious  ground 
of  salvation,  was  abandoned."  ^  But  it  was  re- 
served for  subsequent  years  to  reveal  to  him  the 
truth  of  justification  by  faith  in  all  its  fullness  and 
manifold  relations. 

In  1507  Luther  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood. 
At  the  celebration  of  his  first  mass,  he  was  so 
overwhelmed  l)y  emotion  in  offering  the  tremen- 
dous sacrifice,  that  he  came  near  fainting  at  the 
altar.  His  religious  nature  was  deep  and  strong. 
But  the  Augustinian  monastery  at  Erfurt  Avas  not 
to  be  the  scene  of  his  great  reformatory  labors.  A 
year  after  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood,  and 
when  the  light  of  evangelical  truth  was  dawning 
upon  him,  he  was  called  to  the  newly-founded 
University  of  Wittenberg,  Avhere  Staupitz  was  dean 
of  the  theological  faculty.  He  lived  in  the  Augus- 
tinian convent  there,  and  his  duties  soon  became 
manifold  and  onerous. 

Luther  at  first  lectured  in  the  university  on 
Aristotle  ;  but,  as  might  ])e  inferred  from  his  pro- 
found religious  experience,  this  duty  was  not 
suited  to  his  taste.  He  greatly  preferred  theology 
to  philosophy.  "Theology,"  he  said,  "is  the 
branch  which  examines  the  kernel  of  the  nut,  the 
flour  of  the  wheat,  and  the  marrow  of  the  bones." 
Early  in  1509  he  l^ecame  a  Bachelor  of  Theology, 
and  began  lecturing  on  the  Scriptures.  He  dis- 
carded the  scholastic  method,  and  sought  in  the 

*  Kostliu's  "  Life  of  :Martin  Luther,"  j..  7L 


15EGlx\M.\G    OF    REFORMATION    IN  GERMANY.     181 

writings  of  prophets  and  apostles  the  truth  of  God. 
Tlie  Scriptures  became  to  him  the  living  book. 
'  •  This  monk, ' '  it  was  said  by  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  university,  ' '  will  confound  all  our 
doctors,  establish  new  doctrines,  and  reform  the 
whole  Roman  Church  ;  for  he  bases  himself  on 
the  writings  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  and  is 
lirmly  i:)lanted  on  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ. 
This  no  one  can  successfully  oppose  or  eventu- 
ally subvert,  Ije  it  with  philoso])hy,  soi)liistry, 
Alliertistry,  Thomistry,  or  the  whole  array  of 
authorities. ' '  '^ 

In  1511,  at  the  suggestion  of  8tau})itz,  Luther 
was  sent  to  Rome  on  some  mission  connected  with 
the  Augustinian  order.  The  experiences  of  this 
journey  proved  of  great  value  ;  and,  years  after- 
ward, when  the  work  of  the  Reformation  had 
begun,  he  was  accustomed  to  say  :  "I  would  not 
have  missed  seeing  Rome  f(n'  a  hundred  thousand 
florins ;  for  I  might  have  felt  some  apprehension 
that  I  had  done  injustice  to  the  Pope.  But  as  we 
see,  so  we  speak."  At  this  time  nature  had  but 
little  interest  for  Luther,  and  his  eyes  seem  to 
have  been  closed  to  the  sublimity  of  the  Alps  and 
the  beauty  of  Italian  plains.  But  when  he  first 
caught  sight  of  the  eternal  city,  he  prostrated 
himself  in  blind  devotion,  and,  raising  his  hands, 
exclaimed  :  ' '  Hail  to  thee,  holy  Rome  !  Thrice 
holy  for  the  blood  of  martyrs  shed  there. ' ' 

He  had  not  yet  been  emancipated  from  the 
bondage  of  credulity  and  superstition.  ' '  Whilst 
at  Rome, ' '  to  use  his  own  words,  ' '  I  was  such  a 
foolish  saint  as  to  run  to  every  church,  nook,  and 
corner,  believing  all  their  ridiculous  stories  and 
detestable  falsehoods.  I  likewise  said  mass  at 
Rome,   being  very  sorry,    at   the   time,  that  my 

*  Meurer's  "Life  of  Luther,"  p.  28. 


182  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

parents  were  not  dead,  as  I  would  have  liked,  by 
means  of  my  masses  and  other  precious  works 
and  prayers,  to  have  delivered  them  from  purga- 
tory." As  a  meritorious  work,  for  which  the 
Pope  had  promised  an  indulgence,  he  ascended 
Pilate's  staircase  on  his  knees  ;  but  before  he  had 
reached  the  top,  the  words  of  Paul,  ''The  just 
shall  hve  by  faith,"  thundered  in  his  ears,  and 
he  rose  to  his  feet,  fullj^  confirmed  in  this  Gospel 
truth  of  the  great  apostle. 

He  saw  much  in  the  Papal  caji  )ital,  as  he  records, 
that  shocked  and  outraged  his  religious  feelings. 
He  discovered,  in  the  celebration  of  mass  there, 
an  unbecoming  haste  and  l>lasphemous  irrever- 
ence. Skepticism  and  innnorality  were  wide- 
spread. ' '  Among  other  vulgarities, ' '  he  says, 
' '  I  there  heard,  as  we  were  seated  at  the  table, 
the  courtiers  laughing  and  telling  how  some  would 
say  mass,  and  speak  these  words  over  the  bread 
and  wine  :  '  Bread  thou  art,  and  bread  thou  shalt 
remain  ;  wine  thou  art,  and  wine  thou  shalt  re- 
main. '  ' '  He  discovered  that,  among  ecclesiastics 
of  the  highest  rank,  wealth  and  luxury  had  sup- 
planted apostolic  poverty  and  self-denial.  He 
saw  the  worldly  splendor  of  the  court  of  the  war- 
like Julius  II.,  who  had  just  returned  from  the 
siege  of  a  city,  and  whom  he  afterward  denounced 
as  a  bloody  tyrant. 

In  1512,  after  his  return  to  Wittenberg,  Luther 
was  made  a  Doctor  of  Theology.  Dreading  the 
responsibility  it  imposed,  he  was  reluctant  to  ac- 
cept the  degree.  ' '  Upon  a  doctor, ' '  he  said,  ' '  it 
is  incumbent,  according  to  his  oath  of  office,  to 
explain  the  Scriptures  to  all  the  world,  and  to 
teach  everyone. ' '  His  studious  disposition  shrank 
from  publicity.  But  Staupitz,  the  vicar-general 
of  the  Augustinian  [brotherhood,  was  urgent  and 


BEGINNING    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.     183 

imperative,  and  at  length  Luther  yielded  to  the 
call  of  authority  and  duty.  "Things  have  the 
apijearance, "  said  the  judicious  vicar,  "as  if 
God  would  soon  have  much  to  do  in  Heaven  and 
on  earth  ;  He  will,  therefore,  need  many  young 
and  industrious  doctors,  through  whom  to  transact 
his  business. ' '  Years  afterward,  in  the  midst  of 
his  conflicts  with  the  Papacy,  Luther  comforted 
himself  with  the  pressing  and  imperative  charac- 
ter of  his  call.  "I  received  a  regular  call,"  he 
wrote,  ' '  and  was  forced  to  become  a  doctor,  with- 
out any  thanks  for  it,  it  being  required  as  a  mat- 
ter of  pure  obedience.  I  was  compelled  to  receive 
the  doctorate  and  to  take  oath  and  vow  to  my 
dearest  holy  Scriptures,  to  preach  them  faithfully 
and  without  adulteration.  Whilst  engaged  in 
such  teaching,  the  Papacy  crossed  my  path  and 
attempted  to  Avithstand  me. ' ' 

Luther's  apprehension  of  evangelical  truth  grad- 
ually Ijecame  clearer  and  stronger.  After  lecturing 
on  the  Psalms,  in  which  he  adhered  more  or  less 
closely  to  the  mediaeval  fourfold  sense,  he  took 
up  the  Epistle  to  tlie  Romans,  and  a  little  later 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  His  lectm^es  on 
Romans  have  been  lost,  l)ut  those  on  Galatians,  as. 
elaborated  several  years  afterward,  form  a  com- 
mentary noted  for  its  lucid  and  powerful  presen- 
tation of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  In 
his  lectures  he  sharply  distinguished  between  the 
law  and  the  Gospel,  and  refuted  the  prevailing^ 
error  that  men  can  become  just  before  God  l)y  ex- 
ternal works.  His  presentation  of  Scripture  trutli 
was  felt  to  be  something  new.  "After  a  long  and 
dark  night,"  says  Melanchthon,  "the  light  of  the 
new  doctrine  seemed  to  dawn.  He  showed  the 
distinction  between  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  and 
refuted  the  then  prevalent  error  tliat,  by  their  own 


184  THE    REFOPvMATION    DAWN. 

Avorks,  men  merit  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and,  by 
their  observance  and  discipUne,  are  righteous  l^e- 
fore  God.  RecaUing  the  minds  of  men  to  the  Son 
of  God,  and,  hke  the  Baptist,  pointing  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world,  he  declared  that  sins  are  remitted  freely,  on 
account  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  this  l^cnefit  is 
to  be  received  by  faitli.  Other  portions  of  the 
Church's  doctrines  were  made  clear.  These  "be- 
ginnings of  still  better  things  gave  him  great  in- 
fluence, especially  since  his  life  corresponded  with 
his  speech,  and  his  words  seemed  to  spring,  not 
from  his  lips,  but  from  his  heart. "  ^ 

But  Luther's  duties  were  not  simply  those  of  a 
theological  professor.  Besides  acting  as  sul)-prior 
of  his  convent,  he  had  given  himself,  through  the 
persuasion  and  authority  of  Staupitz,  to  the  office 
of  preaching.  He  at  first  preached  in  the  little 
chapel  of  the  monastery  ;  but  his  power  and  unc- 
tion coming  to  be  recognized,  he  was  invited  to  fill 
the  pulpit  of  the  city  church.  His  energy  and 
zeal  were  unbounded.  He  sometimes  preached 
every  day  for  a  week  ;  and  during  Lent,  in  1517, 
he  preached  tmce  ever}^  day.  His  sermons,  like 
his  lectures,  were  pervaded  by  evangelical  truth, 
and  the  earnestness  of  his  piety  imparted  to  his 
discourses  an  unusual  and  impressive  power. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  Luther  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  German  mystics,  by  wliom  his 
religious  life  and  opinions  were  deeply  impressed. 
In  many  respects,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous 
chapter,  their  conception  of  Christianity  ])resented 
striking  contrasts  to  the  prevailing  Papal  system. 
It  substituted  a  living  piety  for  formalism  ;  it  ex- 
hibited an  ardent  longing  for  spiritual  fellowship 
with  God  ;  it  presented  the  great  truth  of  the  com- 

*  Jacobs's  "  Life  of  Luther,"  p.  44. 


r.EC; INNING    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERAIANV.     IS.") 

men  priesthood  of  believers.  In  1516  Luther 
commended  to  his  friend  Spalatin  the  sermons  of 
Tauler  as  a  verita]:)le  treasure  of  evangelical  truth. 
The  same  year  he  published  the  "German  The- 
olog}","  wliich  he  ranked  next  to  the  Bible  and 
Augustine.  But  while  profoundly  influenced  by 
mysticism,  Luther  was  not  entirely  given  over  to 
it.  In  it  feeling  predominates  over  action  ;  and, 
in  the  language  of  SchaflP,  ' '  Luther  was  a  l:>orn 
fighter,  and  waxed  stronger  and  stronger  in  battle. 
His  theology  is  lii1)lical,  with  such  mystical  ele- 
ments as  the  Bible  itself  contains."  * 

Luther' s  evangelical  apprehension  of  the  Gospel 
made  him  dissatisfied  with  the  scholastic  theology 
and  Aristotelian  philosoi)hy.  IIq  taught  a  living 
theology  rather  than  the  hair-splitting  distinctions 
of  the  schools.  He  emphasized,  in  the  lec- 
ture-room and  in  the  Church,  the  great  doc- 
trines of  repentance,  forgiveness  of  sin,  faith 
in  Christ,  and  a  life  of  obedience  to  God. 
Lie  substituted  a  religion  of  poAver  for  a  religion  of 
form.  He  revived  the  theological  teachings  of 
Augustine,  of  Avhose  works  he  had  been  a  profound 
student.  By  his  forceful  presentation  of  evangel- 
ical truth,  so  long  neglected  in  the  scholastic  the- 
ology, he  in  large  measure  changed  the  intellectual 
and  moral  life  of  the  university.  The  halls  of 
scholastic  theology  were  deserted.  Luther  con- 
tinually grew  in  power  and  influence  ;  and  among 
his  intimate  friends  were  Spalatin,  Carlstadt, 
Lange,  Link,  and  others,  all  of  whom  Avere  men 
of  splendid  ability.  In  May,  1517,  he  wrote  to 
Lange  :  ' '  Our  theology  and  St.  Augustine  flour- 
ish, and  with  God's  help  rule  in  our  university. 
Aristotle  is  gradually  descending  from  his  throne, 
and  will   soon   be   overthrown,   perhaps  forever. 

*  Schaff's  "History  of  the  Church,"  VI.,  p.  143. 


186  THE  kp:formati<)X  daavx. 

The  lectures  on  the  Sententiarians  are  much  de- 
spised, and  no  one  can  count  on  an  audience  if  he 
does  not  lecture  on  this  theology,  that  is,  on  the 
Bible  or  St.  Augustine,  or  some  other  genuine 
Father  of  the  Church." 

According  to  the  testimon}-  of  his  private  secre- 
tary, Spalatin,  the  Elector  Frederick  of  Saxony,  on 
the  night  of  October  30th,  1517,  had  a  remarkable 
dream,  which,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events, 
may  be  regarded  as  foreshadowing  the  Eeforma- 
tion.  In  his  vision  tire  Elector  saw  a  monk 
writing  in  colossal  characters  upon  the  door  of  the 
castle  church  at  Wittenberg.  The  old  quill  with 
wliich  he  wrote  stretched  over  the  Alps  to  Rome, 
where  it  pierced  j:he  ear  of  a  lion,  and  nearly  top- 
pled the  Papal  crown  to  the  earth.  Whether  a 
(coincidence  or  a  prophetic  revelation,  the  vision 
clearly  symbolizes  the  results  of  the  Ninety-five 
Theses  which  Luther,  October  31st,  1517,  nailed 
to  the  door  of  the  castle  church. 

In  1516,  in  order  to  complete  the  magnificent 
cathedral  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  and  to  maintain 
the  luxury  of  his  splendid  court,  Leo  X.  resorted 
to  a  sale  of  indulgences  in  Germany.  He  ap- 
pointed three  commissioners,  chief  of  whom  was 
Albrecht,  Archl)ishop  of  Magdeburg  and  Mayence. 
As  an  electoral  prince  and  imperial  chancellor,  he 
was  one  of  the  most  important  personages  in  Ger- 
many. To  pay  for  his  episcopal  pallium,  he  had 
borrowed  thirty  thousand  gulden  from  the  famous 
banking  house  of  the  Fuggers  in  Augsburg.  Like 
Leo  X.  himself,  the  archbislK^p  was  in  sore  finan- 
cial straits,  and  therefore  entered  vigorously  into 
the  indulgence  scheme,  of  which  one-half  the  pro- 
ceeds passed  into  his  treasury. 

To  drive  the  business  for  him,  he  employed  the 
Dominican  John  Tetzel,  an  experienced  vender, 


BEGINNING    OF    IJEFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.     187 

who  as  Inquisitor  General  was  an  ecclesiastic  of 
high  station  and  authority.  Perhaps  no  more  ef- 
ficient and  unscrupulous  agent  could  have  been 
found  in  Europe.  He  was  gifted  with  a  popular 
eloquence,  and  thoroughly  understood  the  art  of 
imposing  upon  the  credulous  multitude  by  solemn 
pomp  and  display.  As  he  approached  a  town  or 
city,  he  was  Avelcomcd,  amid  the  ringing  of  bells, 
by  a  procession  of  priests,  monks,  magistrates, 
and  the  populace  in  general.  Entering  the  prin- 
cipal church  or  cathedral  to  the  full  tones  of  the 
organ,  he  set  up  before  the  altar  a  red  cross,  over 
which  was  hung  a  silken  banner  bearing  the  Papal 
arms.  Before  the  cross  was  placed  a  large  iron 
money-chest ;  and  then,  mounting  the  j^ulpit, 
Tetzel  magnified  his  office,  lauded  the  power  of  in- 
dulgences, and  in  moving  appeals  urged  the  peo- 
ple to  buy.  ' '  Your  parents  and  relatives, ' '  he  said 
to  the  people,  ' '  cry  out  to  you  :  '  We  are  suffering 
cruel  tortures  ;  you  might  redeem  us  with  a  little 
gift,  and  you  will  not ;  we  have  begotten,  sup- 
ported you  ;  we  have  bequeathed  to  you  our 
earthly  possessions,  and  you  are  so  cruel  and  un- 
feeling as  to  leave  us  here  in  the  flames,  when  you 
might  so  easily  rescue  us  ! '  " 

The  blasphemy  of  Tetzel  appears  to  have  been 
shameless.  Among  tlie  infamous  things  he  pro- 
claimed to  the  credulous  multitude  were  the  fol- 
lowing statements,  which,  though  seemingly  in- 
credible, are  verified  by  adequate  testimony  and 
reflected  in  Luther's  theses  : 

"That  lie  had  grace  and  power  from  the  Pope  that, 
though  one  had  violated  the  holy  virgin,  he  could  for- 
give it,  provided  the  person  placed  the  requisite  amount 
of  money  in  the  box." 

"That  the  red  indulgence-cross  erected  in  the  churches, 
with  the  Pope's  armorial  bearing  on  it,  was  just  as  effica- 
cious as  the  cross  of  Christ." 


188  THE    EEFORMATION    DAWN. 

"That  if  St.  Peter  were  liere  now,  he  would  not  have 
ifreater  power  than  he  had." 

' '  That  he  would  not  in  Heaven  exchange  with  St. 
Peter,  for  he  had  saved  more  souls  with  his  indulgences 
than  the  apostle  had  by  his  preaching. " 

"  That  if  anyone  cast  money  into  the  box  for  a  soul  in 
purgatory,  the  soul  would  fly  up  to  Heaven  as  soon  as  the 
coin  tingled  at  the  bottom." 

• '  That  it  was  not  necessary  to  feel  sorrow  and  grief  on 
account  of  sin,  or  to  repent,  if  one  purchased  the  indul- 
gences." * 

In  the  latter  part  of  1517  Tetzel  began  his  infamous 
traffic  at  Jiiterbock,  a  few  miles  from  Wittenberg, 
where  some  of  Luther's  parishioners  bought  letters 
of  indulgence.  As  a  faithful  pastor  he  warned  his 
people  against  the  delusion  of  purchasing  salvation 
for  money.  The  previous  year  his  attention  had 
been  directed  to  the  gross  abuses  of  the  indulgence 
trade,  and  in  a  sermon  he  then  declared  that  there 
is  no  authority  for  the  doctrine  that  souls  are  de- 
livered from  purgatory  by  the  purchase  of  indul- 
gences. In  subsequent  sermons,  as  the  light 
dawned  upon  him,  he  became  more  confident  and 
more  comprehensive  in  his  denunciations.  He 
perceived  that  indulgences  interfered  with  inner 
penitence,  without  which  there  can  be  no  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  and  lamented  their  demoralizing  effect 
in  teaching  the  people  to  dread  the  punishment  of 
sin  rather  than  sin  itself.  ' '  Oh,  the  dangers  of 
our  times  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  O,  ye  slumbering 
]3riests  !  Oh  darkness  denser  than  that  of  Egypt  ! 
How  secure  we  are  in  these  extreme  evils  ! ' ' 

Under  these  circumstances,  impelled  by  deep  re- 
ligious conviction  and  by  fearless  loyalty  to  the 
truth,  Luther  prepared  his  Ninety-five  Theses, 
and  nailed  them  to  the  door  of  the  castle  church. 

*  Meurer's  "Life  of  Luther,"  p.  44;  Matthesius's  "Leben  Luthers," 
p.  18;  D'Aubigne's  "History  of  tlie  Reformation,"  I.,  p.  241. 


BEGI^"^■I^'G  of  reformation  in  Germany.   189 

Without  naming  him,  the  theses  were  evidently 
directed  against  Tetzel,  and  the  indulgence  traffic 
he  represented.  Though  not  completely  emanci- 
pated from  Papal  error,  as  Luther  subsequently 
I'ecognized,  they  contain  sufficient  evangelical 
truth  to  correct  the  gross  abuses  of  the  traffic  and 
to  shear  it  of  its  popularity  and  profit.  The  doc- 
trine of  indulgences,  unconsciously  to  Luther,  who 
was  still  a  loyal  son  of  the  Papacy,  was  under- 
mined.     Note  the  following  propositions  : 


"1.  AVhen  our  Lord  and  Master  Jesiis  Christ  said,  Ee- 
peiit  ye,  He  meant  that  the  whole  earthly  life  of  His 
believers  should  be  a  continual  repentance." 

"5.  The  PojDe  neither  wishes  to  remit  nor  can  remit 
any  other  punishments  but  those  which  he,  either  ac- 
cording to  his  own  pleasure  or  in  accordance  with  the 
canons  of  the  Church,  has  impqsed." 

"13.  The  dying  pay  all  penalties  by  death,  and  are 
already  dead  to  the  canon  laws,  and  are  by  right  relieved 
from  them." 

''21.  Therefore  the  preachers  of  indulgences  err  when 
they  say  that  through  the  indulgences  of  the  Pope  a  man 
is  freed  from  all  punishment  and  will  be  saved." 

"27.  Those  preach  the  vain  fancies  of  men  who  pre- 
tend that  as  soon  as  the  coin  tingles  in  the  box,  so  soon 
the  soul  is  delivered  from  pursratory." 

"  33.  We  must  especially  beware  of  those  who  say  that 
these  pardons  from  the  Pope  are  that  inestimable  gift  of 
God  by  which  man  is  reconciled  to  God." 

"36.  Every  Christian  who  feels  true  compunction  has 
of  right  plenary  remission  of  pain  and  guilt,  even  without 
letters  of  pard(jn." 

"52.  To  trust  to  letters  of  indulgence  for  salvation  is 
trusting  to  vanity  and  falsehood,  even  though  the  Com- 
missary or  the  Pope  himself  should  give  his  soul  in  i)ledge 
for  it." 

"62.  The  true  treasure  of  the  Church  is  the  holy  Gos- 
pel of  the  glory  and  the  grace  of  God." 

"  75.  To  think  that  Papal  pardons  have  such  power 
that  they  could  absolve  a  man  even  if,  by  any  possibility, 
he  had  violated  the  mother  of  God,  is  madneks." 

"76.  We  affirm,  on  the  contrary,  that  Papal  pardons 


190  THE  ep:fokmation  dawx. 

cannot  take  away  even  the  least  venial  sins,  as  regards 
thegnilt." 

"79.  To  say  that  the  cross  erected  with  the  Pope's 
armorial  bearing  splendidly  adorning  it  can  accomplish 
as  much  as  the  cross  of  Christ  is  blasphemy  against  God." 

In  all  this  Luther  was  earnestly  seeking  for  the 
truth.  He  had  been  denounced  as  a  heretic,  but 
he  concludes  his  theses  ^vith  an  earnest  soHcita- 
tion  to  be  shown,  if  lie  be  in  error,  a  better  way. 
^ '  On  my  part, ' '  he  sa^^s,  "  as  I  have  often  done 
before,  so  now,  too,  I  implore  all  men,  by  the 
faith  of  Christ,  either  to  point  out  to  me  a  better 
way,  if  such  a  way  has  been  divinely  revealed  to 
any,  or  at  least  to  submit  their  opinion  to  the 
judgment  of  God  and  of  the  Church.  For  I  am 
neither  so  rash  as  to  wish  that  my  sole  oj)inion 
should  be  preferred  to  that  of  all  other  men,  nor 
so  senseless  as  to  be  willing  that  the  Word  of  God 
should  be  made  to  give  place  to  fables  devised  by 
human  reason." 

Little  did  Luther  anticipate  the  tremendous  re- 
sults that  flowed  from  his  theses.  Originally  pre- 
pared in  Latin,  they  were  intended  alone  for  a  nar- 
row and  scholarly  circle.  But  they  proved  to  be 
the  match  that  lighted  a  great  conflagration. 
They  were  speedily  translated  into  German,  and 
in  a  fortnight  were  eagerly  perused  and  discussed 
throughout  all  Germany.  Not  a  few  devout  and 
anxious  spirits  felt  that  at  last  a  deliverer  had 
come.  Luther  had  voiced  the  feelings  of  many 
earnest  Christians,  who  longed  for  deliverance 
from  existing  evils,  and  prayed  for  a  return  to  a 
pure  and  spiritual  religion.  '^  Ho,  ho  !  "  joyfully 
exclaimed  Dr.  Fleck,  who  had  assisted  at  the  ded- 
ication of  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  ''this  is 
the  man  that  will  accomplish  it ;  he  for  w^hom  we 
have   long  been  waiting   is   coming."     Reuchlin 


BEGINNING    OF    REFORMATION    IN   GERMANY.    191 

was  likewise  delighted.  ' '  The  monks  have  now- 
found  a  man,"  he  said,  "who  will  give  them 
such  full  employment  that  they  will  be  glad  to  let 
me  spend  my  old  age  in  peace."  Others,  re- 
calling the  failure  of  previous  reformatory  move- 
ments, were  less  hopeful.  Dr.  Kranz,  of  Ham- 
burg, while  lying  at  the  point  of  death,  said, 
' '  You  tell  the  truth,  good  brother,  but  you  will 
accomplish  nothing  ;  go  to  your  cell,  and  say, 
God  have  mercy  upon  me. ' ' 

At  the  same  time  the  theses  worked  a  storm  of 
protests  and  denunciations  from  scholastic  ad- 
herents of  the  Papacy.  The  Dominicans  were  es- 
pecially virulent  in  their  attacks  upon  Luther. 
Aided  by  Conrad  Wimpina,  a  professor  of  theol- 
ogy in  the  University  of  Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 
Tetzel  soon  brought  forward  a  series  of  opposing 
theses,  which  he  defended  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  assembly  of  monks.  With  great  controver- 
sial shrewdness,  he  made  the  authority  and  power 
of  the  Pope  the  salient  point  of  his  discussion. 
He  boldly  maintained  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope,  which  had  not  at  that  time  been  formally 
made  an  article  of  Roman  Catholic  belief. 
"Christians  must  be  taught,"  he  said,  "  that  the 
judgment  of  the  Pope  in  matters  pertaining  to  the 
faith  and  what  is  necessary  to  the  salvation  of 
men  is  without  question  infallible,  and  that  all 
observances  referring  to  matters  of  faith,  which 
the  Papal  chair  has  sanctioned,  are  part  and  par- 
cel of  Catholic  truth,  even  if  they  are  not  found 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

Another  Dominican  assailant,  of  far  greater 
ability  than  Tetzel,  was  Sylvester  de  Prierio,  or,  as 
he  is  generallv  called,  Prierias.  He  also  main- 
tahied  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope.  ' '  The  Church 
universal, ' '  he  declared,  ' '  is  virtually  the  Church 


192  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

of  Rome  and  tlie  Pope.  The  Roman  Church  is 
re])resentatively  the  college  of  cardinals  ;  but  vir- 
tually it  is  the  Pope,  who  is  head  of  the  Church. 
Whoever  does  not  rest  upon  the  doctrine  of  the 
Roman  Church  and  the  Roman  Pope,  as  an  infal- 
lible rule  of  faith,  from  which  even  the  Holy 
Scriptures  derive  their  authority,  is  a  heretic." 
Jacob  von  Hoogstraten,  of  Cologne,  the  i^ersistent 
enemy  of  Reuchlin,  demanded  Luther's  punish- 
ment b}^  fire,  and  John  Eck,  a  professor  in  the 
University  of  Ingolstadt,  and  a  man  of  recognized 
aV)ility  and  learning,  charged  him  with  reviving 
the  Hussite  heresy. 

Though  sometimes  alarmed  at  the  dangerous 
position  into  which  he  was  being  forced,  Luther 
did  not  lose  his  courage  and  loyalty  to  truth.  The 
replies  of  his  assailants,  so  far  from  convincing 
him  of  error,  only  confirmed  him  in  his  apprehen- 
sion of  the  Gospel.  He  was  astonished  at  their 
emptiness  of  proof,  and  their  reliance  upon  scho- 
lastic authority.  After  a  visit  to  Heidelberg, 
where  his  learning,  courtesy,  and  sincerity  Avon 
him  friends,  who,  like  Bucer,  Brenz,  and  Schnepf, 
afterward  became  prominent  in  the  Reformation, 
he  prepared  in  1518  a  defense  of  his  theses,  called 
Resolutiones,  which  in  a  very  humble  letter  he 
dedicated  to  Leo  X.  "  If  I  have  deserved 
death,"  he  says,  "  I  refuse  not  to  dm  ;  for  the 
earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  thereof." 

In  spite  of  his  servile  letter,  Luther  rejects  the 
infallibility  of  the  Pope — an  issue  that  had  been 
forced  into  the  discussion — and  practically  plants 
himself  on  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. ' '  I  concern  myself  little  about  it, ' '  he 
says,  ' '  whether  anything  does  or  does  not  please 
the  Pope  ;  he  is  a  man  like  other  men.  There 
have  been  many  Popes,  who  have  taken  pleasure 


BEGIXXIXG    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.     193 

not  only  in  errors  and  vices,  Jnit  likewise  in  the 
most  unaccountii])le  things.  I  obey  tht;  Pope  as 
l*ope,  that  is,  if  he  speaks  what  the  canons  dictate, 
and  if  he  acts  in  accordance  with  their  prescri})- 
tions,  or  in  connection  wdth  a  council  pronounces 
a  decision  ;  but  not,  if  he  speaks  only  what  seems 
good  to  himself  merely.  For  else  I  would,  with 
some  that  understand  nothing  of  Christ,  like- 
wise be  compelled  to  say  that  Julius  II.,  notwith- 
standing his  atrocious  murders  and  shedding  of 
Christian  blood,  still  acted  as  a  good  she])herd  and 
faithfully  tended  the  flock  of  Christ. ' '  He  further 
declared  that  the  Church  was  in  need  of  a  reforma- 
tion, but  that  the  time  of  its  accomplishment  was 
known  only  to  God. 

The  controversy  speedih^  assumed  a  deeper  sig- 
nificance. Pope  Leo  X. ,  who  was  at  first  disposed 
to  make  light  of  the  matter,  became  thoroughly 
aroused.  "  Brother  Martin,"  he  had  said  at  the 
beginning,  "  is  a  man  of  fine  genius,  and  this  out- 
break is  a  mere  scpiabble  of  envious  monks. ' '  But 
in  August,  1518,  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  inter- 
pose his  pontifical  authority.  Accordingly,  he 
cited  Luther  to  appear  at  Rome  wdthin  sixty  days 
to  answer  the  charge  of  heresy,  and  ordered  the 
Elector  Frederick  to  deliver  up  this  "  child  of  the 
devil"  to  the  Papal  legate.  He  threatene(l  to 
place  the  terrible  interdict  upon  ' '  all  princes,  com- 
munities, universities,  and  powers,  or  any  of 
them,"  that  might  aid  or  protect  Luther  and  his 
adherents.  But  the  Elector  Avas  unwilling  to  sacri- 
fice the  most  prominent  teacher  of  his  young  uni- 
versity ;  and,  knowing  that  Luther's  appearance 
in  Rome  (certainly  meant  his  condenniation,  and 
pn^bably  his  death,  he  secured,  after  diplomatic 
negotiations,  the  important  concession  that  the 
reformer  should  be  tried  upon  German  soil. 
13 


194  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

In  Octoljei'j  I0I8,  LutluT  went  on  foot  to  Augs- 
burg to  appear  before  tlie  cardinal  legate  Cajetan. 
An  imperial  diet  had  just  l)een  held  there,  and 
Maximilian  was  still  in  the  neighlx)rhood.  After 
receiving  a  safe-conduct  from  the  Emperor,  Luthei- 
appeared  before  the  cardinal  in  three  interviews. 
Nothing  was  accomplished.  Cajetan  demanded 
that  Luther  should  :  1.  Retract  his  errors  ;  2.  De- 
sist from  them  in  the  future  ;  and  3.  Refrain  from 
everything  else  that  might  disturb  the  Church. 
Like  the  previous  opp(~)nents  of  the  reformer,  he 
asserted  that  "the  Poi)e  had  power  and  authority 
over  all  things."  In  reply,  Luther  expressed  a 
willingness  to  be  instructed,  and  desired  to  have 
his  errors  pointed  out.  He  afhrmed  the  scriptural 
character  of  his  teaching,  and  refused  to  submit  to 
the  dictum  of  the  Pope.  ' '  The  decretals, ' '  he 
said,  ' '  often  erred,  and  were  opposed  to  the  H0I3' 
Scriptures  and  Christian  love.  St.  Peter,  on  occa- 
sion of  his  not  walking  uprightly  according  to  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel,  had  lieen  reproved  by  St. 
Paul.  It  was  not,  therefore,  to  be  wondered  at  if 
his  successor  should  likewise  err  in  any  case.  In 
matters  of  faith,  not  only  a  general  council,  but 
every  believer  was  above  the  Pope,  in  case  he  had 
]:)etter  authoritv  and  reason  on  his  side."  At 
length  the  legate,  who  had  at  first  treated  Luther 
courteously,  became  impatient  and  angry,  and, 
rising  from  his  seat,  exclaimed  :  "  Begone,  and  do 
not  again  come  into  my  presence,  except  to  re- 
cant." A  week  later,  having  reason  to  fear 
treachery,  he  left  Augsburg  secretly  ;  but  before 
his  departure,  he  left  an  appeal  from  Cajetan  to  the 
Pope,  and  "  from  the  Pope  ill-informed  to  the  Pope 
lietter  informed. ' '  And  in  November,  he  appealed 
from  the  Pope  to  a  general  council. 

Before  proceeding  to  extreme  measures,  the  Pope 


BEGINNING    OF    EEFOKMATION    IX    GERMANY.     195 

Fiiacle  another  attempt  to  induce  Lutlier  to  recant. 
For  this  purpose  he  dispatched  his  chamberlain, 
Miltitz,  to  Saxony,  where  the  nuncio,  a  polished 
and  plausible  courtier,  had  a  conference  with 
Luther.  For  a  moment  the  reformer,  awe-struck 
at  the  proportions  tlie  controversy  was  assuming, 
wavered  in  his  courageous  line  of  action.  A  tem- 
porary compromise  was  effected.  Luther  consented 
to  beg  pardon  of  the  Pope,  and  to  warn  the  people 
against  the  sin  of  separating  from  the  Papal 
Church.  It  w^as  agreed  that  the  matter  in  contro- 
versy should  be  settled  by  a  German  bishop,  and 
that  meanwdiile  both  parties  were  to  remain  silent. 
Then,  after  a  convivial  supper,  the  negotiators 
parted  w^ith  a  kiss.  A  remark  of  the  nuncio 
throws  an  interesting  light  upon  the  feeling  of  the 
German  people.  "0,  dear  Martin,"  said  the  ef- 
fusive ^Nliltitz,  ' '  I  thought  you  were  already  an 
aged,  worn-out  theologian,  sitting  behind  the  stove, 
and  thus  disputing  with  yourself  ;  but  I  perceive 
that  you  are  yet  an  active,  young,  and  strong  man. 
And  even  if  I  had  with  me  an  army  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men,  I  would  not  trust  to  bring  you 
out  of  Germany.  For  on  my  journey  I  have  made 
repeated  inquiries  as  to  how  the  people  were  dis- 
posed, and  what  they  thought  of  you,  when  I 
found  thus  much  :  that  where  there  is  one  on  the 
Pope's  side,  there  are  at  least  three  others  on  your 
side  against  the  Pope. ' ' 

The  truce  agreed  upon  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion. The  controversy  had  alread}^  ceased  to  be  a 
private  matter.  The  Emperor  and  leading  princes 
of  Germany,  the  Pope  and  his  cardinals,  universi- 
ties, and  theologians,  to  say  nothing  of  the  common 
people,  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  issue  that  had 
been  made.  The  conflagration  could  not  be  stayed. 
The  Papal  theologian,  John  Eck,  was  the  first  to 


196  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

break  the  truce.  Upon  his  initiative  a  disputa- 
tion was  arranged  and  lield  at  Leipzig,  in  which  he 
championed  the  Papacy  against  Carlstadt  and 
Luther.  His  triumph  over  Carlstadt  was  not 
difficult ;  but  in  Luther  he  met  an  antagonist, 
who,  in  addition  to  great  intellectual  energy,  pos- 
sessed a  wide  acquaintance  with  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory and  a  matchless  knowledge  of  Scripture, 
illumined  by  a  profound  religious  experience. 
The  debate  lasted  three  weeks,  and  at  its  conclu- 
sion both  sides  claimed  the  victory. 

An  invalualjle  result  for  Luther  was  the  increas- 
ing clearness  with  which  he  apprehended  evangel- 
ical truth,  his  further  rejection  of  Papal  assumption, 
and  his  growing  reliance  upon  Scripture  as  the  ul- 
timate rule  of  religious  faith  and  practice.  The 
principal  point  in  the  disputation,  as  in  the  pre- 
vious discussions  connected  with  the  theses,  was 
the  nature  and  extent  of  Papal  authority.  In 
opposition  to  Eck's  extravagant  claims  in  behalf 
of  the  Roman  Church  and  ' '  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter  as  the  general  A^icar  of  Christ,"  Luther  af- 
firmed :  ' '  That  the  Roman  Church  is  superior  to 
all  others  is  proved  from  the  most  sill}^  decrees  of 
the  Roman  Pontiffs  who  have  been  born  within  the 
last  four  hundred  years  ;  against  which  is  the 
approved  history  of  fifteen  hundred  years,  the 
text  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  decree  of  the 
Council  of  Nice,  the  most  holy  of  all  councils. ' ' 
He  was  led  to  speak  a  favorable  word  for  Huss, 
whose  doctrines,  he  said  a  few  months  later,  he 
had  been  teaching  without  knowing  it.  ' '  No 
faithful  Christian,"  he  maintained,  "  can  be  com- 
pelled to  anything  beyond  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  constitute,  properly  speaking,  the  divine 
law." 

Mosellanus,  professor  of  eloquence  at  Lei^jzig, 


BEGINNING    OF    REFOK.MATION    IN    GERMANY.     197 

who  delivered  an  iutroductorv  address  at  the  dis- 
putation, gives  us  an  interesting  pen-picture  of 
Luther.  "Martin,"  he  says,  "is  of  the  middle 
size,  of  a  spare  frame,  and  so  worn  down  by  cares 
and  study  that,  if  you  behold  him  near,  you  can 
number  almost  all  the  bones  of  his  body.  He  is 
in  the  prime  of  manhood,  and  has  a  clear,  pene- 
trating voice.  His  learning  and  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures  are  so  admirable  that  he  is  at  home  in 
almost  everything.  Of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  he 
has  learned  so  much  as  to  be  able  to  Judge  of  the 
explanations.  He  is  at  no  loss  as  to  matter  for 
discourse,  for  he  has  an  extraordinary  stock  of  facts 
and  words  at  his  command.  In  the  common 
intercourse  of  life  he  is  polite  and  friendly,  having 
nothing  gloomy  or  haughty  aV)Out  him,  and  know- 
ing how  to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances.  In 
society  he  is  agreeable,  lively,  and  at  all  times  of  a 
good  courage  and  a  serene  countenance,  no  matter 
what  evil  designs  his  enemies  may  have  against 
liim,  all  which  constrains  one  to  believe  that  he 
does  not  undertake  sucli  important  things  without 
the  assistance  of  God. ' '  -'^ 

The  conflict  deepened  as  new  foes  assailed  and 
new  friends  defended  the  fearless  reformer.  The 
Franciscans  denounced  fourteen  of  Luther's  theses 
as  heretical.  Emser,  professor  of  canon  law  at 
Leipzig,  made  an  insidious  attack  that  aroused 
Luther's  Avrath.  He  was  charged  Avith  holding 
Hussite  doctrines  ;  and  in  explanation  of  this  fact, 
the  slanderous  report  was  circulated  that  he  was 
-descended  of  Bohemian  parentage.  After  he  had 
published  a  sermon  favoring  the  administration  of 
the  sacrament  under  both  kinds,  Duke  George  of 
Saxony  wrote  to  the  Elector  "that  Luther's  book 
was  regarded  as  savoring  considerably  of  Prague, 

*  Meurer's  "  Life  of  Luther,"  p.  116. 


198  THE    llEFORMATIOX    DAWX. 

and  as,  in  fact,  bearing  A^dth  it  much  heresy  and 
scandal."  The  Bishop  of  Meissen  issued  a  pro- 
clamation against  Luther's  sermon  on  the  sacra- 
ment, in  which  he  lamented  its  evil  effects  and 
enjoined  the  clergy  to  preach  the  orthodoxy  of 
Roman  Catholic  usage.  The  theological  faculties 
of  Cologne  and  Louvain  pronounced  his  writings 
heretical,  and  condemned  them  to  the  flames. 
Thus  monks,  theologians,  prelates,  princes,  and 
universities,  zealously  adhering  to  the  Papacy,  de- 
nounced Luther  as  a  heretic  and  clamored  for  his 
destruction. 

But  friends  were  not  lacking.  Not  only  at  AMt- 
tenberg,  but  through  all  Germany,  the  evangelical 
cause  was  constantly  gaining  strength.  In  Me- 
lanchthon  the  great  reformer  found  an  invaluable 
coadjutor  and  friend.  Melanchthon' s  scholarship 
in  Latin  and  Greek  and  his  clear,  intellectual  pen- 
etration were  of  material  aid  to  Luther.  The 
gentleness  of  Melanchthon' s  character  was  a  whole- 
some check  ui)on  Luther's  impetuosity  and  vio- 
lence. Throughout  the  critical  and  dangerous 
period  under  consideration,  they  were  united  in 
the  bonds  of  a  beautiful  friendship.  Luther  ac- 
corded Melanchthon' s  attainments  and  talents  a 
generous  recognition  ;  and  when  Eck  attempted  to 
ridicule  the  latter  by  calling  him  a  grammarian, 
the  reformer  replied  :  ' '  I,  a  doctor  of  philosophy 
and  of  theology,  am  not  ashamed  to  yield  when 
this  grammarian's  mind  differs  from  me  ;  I  have 
done  so  often,  and  do  it  daily,  on  account  of  the 
gifts  with  which  God  has  so  l)eautifully  filled  this 
fragile  vessel  ;  I  honor  the  work  of  God  in  him." 

But  Melanchthon  did  more.  In  this  early 
period  he  used  his  pen  in  defense  of  Luther. 
"Judge  yourselves,"  he  said  to  the  princes  and 
people  of  Germany,  ' '  whether  those  really  seek 


BEGINIsING    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.     199 

the  Av  elf  are  and  good  name  of  your  native  country 
Avho  luring  accusations  against  the  man  that  has 
delivered  the  country  from  Roman  impositions, 
Avho,  singly  and  alone,  has  ventured  to  root  up 
errors  that  had  maintained  their  ground  for  several 
centuries,  who  has  again  brought  to  light  the  doc- 
trines of  Christianity,  which  were  almost  entirely 
hidden  amidst  the  ungodly  statutes  of  the  Popes 
and  the  silly  sophisms  of  the  schools.  For  this 
praise  not  only  myself  Init  the  learned  award 
him." 

The  Elector  Frederick  likewise  proved  a  most 
valuable  friend.  Upon  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  in  January,  1519,  he  became  regent 
of  the  empire — a  position  that  gave  him  for  a  time 
a  commanding  influence.  In  reply  to  the  urgent 
appeals  of  Papal  representatives,  he  maintained  a 
calm,  judicial  attitude,  insisting  that  the  errors  of 
Luther  should  be  pointed  out  and  refuted  as  a 
necessary  preliminary  to  his  condemnation  and 
punishment.  His  attitude  toward  Luther  and  his 
judgment  of  the  popular  feeling  he  gives  in  a  let- 
ter to  Dr.  Teutleben.  "Luther's  doctrines,"  he 
says,  ' '  have  already  struck  too  deep  root  in  the 
hearts  of  many  in  Germany  for  it  to  pass  off  so 
lightly  (as  is  supposed),  if,  instead  of  refuting 
them  with  just  and  sound  arguments  and  reasons, 
and  manifest  and  clear  testimony  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  terrors  of  ecclesiastical  power  alone  be 
resorted  to  and  put  into  requisition  against  him, 
to  crush  him  ;  it  would  rather  occasion  great  and 
excessive  scandal  in  German}^,  and  excite  fearful, 
dreadful,  injurious,  and  ruinous  insurrections, 
which  might  not  prove  of  any  advantage  or  bene- 
fit, either  to  the  most  holy  father,  the  Pope,  or  to 
anyone  else." 

Francis  von  Sickingen  offered  Luther  a  retreat 


200  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

in  his  castle  at  Naustall,  if  he  should  find  it  neces- 
sary to  leave  Wittenberg.  Ulrich  von  Hutten 
wrote  a  letter  of  encouragement,  warning  him  to 
be  on  his  guard.  "  For  without  you,"  he  says  to 
the  reformer,  ' '  what  misfortune,  distress,  and  in- 
jury Avould  it  not  Ining  upon  all  Christendom  if 
you  should  now  fall  away.  Yet  as  far  as  you  are 
concerned,  I  am  certain  that  you  are  resolved 
much  rather  to  die  than  to  pass  over  to  them  and 
be  united  with  them. ' '  Schauenburg  wrote  in  a 
similar  strain  :  "I  pray  and  exhort  you  in  God 
the  Lord,  that,  although  the  elector,  princes,  and 
other  superiors  should  forsake  you,  and  unjustly 
permit  arbitrary,  ecclesiastical  power  to  be  put  in 
force  against  you,  you  Avould  not  let  such  swerving 
and  falling  off  disturl)  you,  much  less  betake  your- 
self to  the  Bohemians,  with  whom  several  highly 
learned  men  have  aforetime  sustained  marked  in- 
sults and  injury,  thus  only  making  things  worse. 
For  I,  and  I  think  I  may  say  a  hundred  others  of 
the  nobility,  whom  (if  God  permit)  I  will  assem- 
ble, will  faithfully  support  you  and  protect  you 
against  all  the  danger  from  your  adversaries,  till 
your  doctrines  have,  in  a  general  Christian  coun- 
cil, regularly  summoned,  or  by  unbiased  and  in- 
telligent judges,  been  vindicated  and  estabhshed, 
or  you  have  been  better  informed." 

All  this  sympathy  and  encouragement  was,  no 
doubt,  grateful  to  Luther,  and  helped  to  sus- 
tain him  in  the  midst  of  his  trials  and  dangers. 
But  his  reliance  was  not  in  carnal  weapons.  ' '  I 
would  not, ' '  he  wrote,  ' '  have  the  Gospel  main- 
tained by  violence  and  bloodshed.  By  the  Word 
the  world  has  been  overcome  ;  by  the  Word  the 
Church  has  been  preserved  ;  by  the  Word  it  will 
also  be  restored  ;  and  as  antichrist  has  gained  his 


BEGINNING    OF    REFORIMATION    IN    GERMANY.    201 

power  without  violence,  so  he  will  fall  without 
violence." 

^^llile  powerful  friends  and  defenders  through- 
out German}^  were  gathering  around  him,  Luther 
himself  exhibited  a  prodigious  activity  and  cour- 
age. Along  with  his  work  as  a  professor  in  the 
University  of  \Mttenberg  and  preacher  in  the  cit}' 
church,  lie  wrote  in  1520  no  fewer  than  fifteen 
treatises,  most  of  which  were  replies  to  his  assail- 
ants and  attacks  upon  Papal  errors.  Through 
great  conflicts  within  and  without,  his  vision  of 
evangelical  truth  had  been  rendered  clear  and  pro- 
found ;  and  among  the  various  works  of  this 
laborious  year  there  were  three  of  such  importance 
that  they  liave  been  designated  as  his  "  Primary 
^Vorks."  They  bring  before  us,  in  definite  form, 
the  errors  of  the  Roman  Church  which  the  re- 
formers combated  and  the  points  of  reformation 
which  the}'  ardently  sought. 

The  first  of  these  three  great  w^orks  was  the  ad- 
dress to  the  "  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German  Na- 
tion.'' Luther  understood  its  tremendous  signifi- 
cance. The  thought  of  the  treatise  came  to  him 
as  he  was  driving  along  with  a  friend.  ' '  I  have 
charged  a  rifle,"  he  said  to  his  companion, 
' '  which,  if  I  succeed  in  discharging  it  well,  will 
certainly  force  its  way  through."  His  achieve- 
ment answered  to  his  desire  ;  and  perhaps  no 
more  comprehensive  and  irresistible  attack  was 
€ver  directed  against  the  Papal  system. 

The  address  consists  of  three  parts.  The  first 
part  is  devoted  to  an  overthrow  of  "the  three 
walls  of  the  Romanists."  "  The  Romanists  have 
with  great  adroitness,"  he  says,  "drawn  three 
walls  round  themselves,  with  which  they  have 
hitherto    protected    themselves,   so    that   no  one 


202  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

could  reform  them,  whereby  all  Christeridom  has 
fallen  terribly.  First,  if  pressed  by  the  temporal 
power,  they  have  affirmed  and  maintained  that 
the  temj^oral  power  has  no  jurisdiction  over  them, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  sjjiritual  power  is 
above  the  temporal.  Secondly,  if  it  were  pro- 
posed to  admonish  them  Avith  the  Scrijjtures,  they 
objected  that  no  one  may  interpret  the  Scriptures 
but  the  Pope.  Thirdly,  if  they  are  threatened 
with  a  council,  the}"  pretend  that  no  one  may  call 
a  council  but  the  Pope. ' ' 

In  attacking  and  destroying  the  first  wall, 
Luther  maintains  that  the  distinction  between  the 
spiritual  estate  and  the  temporal  estate  is  a  hypo- 
critical device.  ' '  Between  laymen  and  priests, ' ' 
he  says,  "  princes  and  bishops,  or,  as  they  call  it, 
between  temporal  and  spiritual  persons,  the  onl}" 
real  difference  is  one  of  office  and  function,  and 
not  of  estate  ;  for  they  are  all  of  the  same  spirit- 
ual estate,  true  priests,  bishops,  and  popes, 
though  their  functions  are  not  the  same. ' ' 

In  regard  to  the  second  w^all,  Luther  holds  that 
the  Poi)e's  claim  to  l)e  the  sole  interpreter  of 
Scripture  is  an  impudent  usurpation,  unsupported 
by  reason,  fact,  or  revelation.  "It  is  a  wickedly 
devised  fable,"  he  declares,  "and  they  cannot 
quote  a  single  letter  to  confirm  it,  that  it  is  for  the 
Pope  alone  to  interi)ret  the  Scriptures  or  to  con- 
firm the  interpretation  of  them  ;  they  have  as- 
sumed the  authority  of  their  own  selves.  And 
though  they  say  that  this  authority  was  given  to 
St.  Peter  when  the  keys  were  given  to  him,  it  is 
plain  enough  that  the  keys  were  not  given  to  St. 
Peter  alone,  l:>ut  to  the  whole  community.  Be- 
sides, the  keys  Avere  not  ordained  for  floctrine  or 
authority,  but  for  sin,  to  bind  or  loose  ;  and  what 
they  claim  besides  this  is  mere  invention." 


BEGIXNIXt;    OF    REFOKMATION    IN    GERMANY.     20o 

As  to  the  third  wall,  it  falls  of  itself  with  the 
destruction  of  the  other  two.  "  If  the  Pope  act 
contrary  to  the  Scriptures, ' '  Luther  affirms,  ' '  we 
are  bound  to  stand  by  the  Scriptures,  to  punish 
and  constrain  him."  If  the  Pope  resist  the  call- 
ing of  a  council  or  the  reformation  of  the  Churcli, 
his  authority  is  to  be  disregarded  and  his  excom- 
munications despised  ''as  tlie  ravings  of  a  mad- 
man." 

Luther  concludes  the  first  part  of  his  address 
with  these  words  :  ' '  And  now  I  hope  we  have  laid 
the  false,  lying  spectre  Avith  which  the  Romanists 
liave  long  terrified  and  stupefied  our  consciences. 
And  we  have  shown  that,  like  all  the  rest  of  us, 
they  are  subject  to  the  temporal  sword  ;  that  they 
have  no  authority  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  l>y 
force  without  skill  ;  and  that  they  have  no  poAver 
to  pi"event  a  council  or  to  pledge  it  in  accordance 
with  their  pleasure,  or  to  ])ind  it  beforehand,  and 
deprive  it  of  its  freedom  ;  and  that  if  they  do  this, 
they  are  verily  of  the  fellowship  of  antichrist  and 
the  devil,  and  have  nothing  of  Christ  but  the 
name."  * 

The  second  part  of  the  address  treats  of  "the 
matters  to  be  considered  in  the  council."  It  is  a 
bold  and  terrific  arraignment  of  the  Papacy  for  its 
])ride,  tyranny,  and  wickedness.  "  It  is  a  dis- 
tressing and  terrible  thing,"  Luther  exclaims, 
' '  to  see  that  the  head  of  Christendom,  who  boasts 
of  being  the  Vicar  of  Christ  and  the  successor  of 
St.  Peter,  lives  in  a  worldly  pomp  that  no  king  or 
emperor  can  equal  ;  so  that  in  him,  who  calls  him- 
self most  holy  and  most  spiritual,  there  is  more 
worldliness  than  in  the  world  itself.     He  wears  a 

*  The  foregoing,  as  well  as  the  following  quotations  from  Luther's 
three  great  treatises,  are  taken  from  Wace  and  Buchheim's  "  Luther's 
Primary  Works."  But  they  have  been  verified  by  reference  to  the 
German  in  the  Leipzig  edition  of  Luther's  works. 


204  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

triple  crown,  whereas  the  mightiest  kings  wear 
only  one.  If  this  resembles  the  poverty  of  Christ 
and  St.  Peter,  it  is  a  new  sort  of  resemblance. ' ' 

The  reformer  points  ont,  in  strong  language,  the 
usurpations  and  shameless  subterfuges  by  which 
the  Papacy  increased  its  power  and  filled  its  cof- 
fers. Germany  was  impoverished  to  support  an 
imposing  and  venal  court.  "There  is  such  a 
swarm  of  vermin  at  Rome, ' '  he  says,  ' '  all  called 
Papal,  that  Babylon  itself  never  saw  the  like. 
There  are  more  than  three  thousand  Papal  secreta- 
ries alone  ;  but  who  shall  count  the  other  office- 
bearers, since  there  are  so  many  offices  that  we 
can  scarcely  count  them,  and  all  waiting  for  Ger- 
man l:)enefices,  as  wolves  wait  for  a  flock  of  sheep  ? 
I  think  Germany  now  pays  to  the  Pope  more  than 
it  formerly  paid  the  emperors  ;  nay,  some  think 
more  than  three  hundred  thousand  guilders  are 
sent  from  Germany  to  Rome  every  year,  for  noth- 
ing whatever  ;  and  in  return  we  are  scoffed  at  and 
put  to  shame.  Do  Ave  still  wonder  why  princes, 
noblemen,  cities,  foundations,  convents,  and  peo- 
ple are  poor  ?  We  should  rather  wonder  that  we 
have  anything  left  to  eat." 

Of  the  outrageous  traffic  in  privileges  and  bene- 
fices carried  on  at  Rome,  Luther  says  :  ' '  Any  sort 
of  usury  is  made  legitimate  for  money  ;  property 
got  b}^  theft  or  robbery  is  here  made  legal.  Here 
vows  are  annulled  ;  here  a  monk  obtains  leave  to 
quit  his  order  ;  here  priests  can  enter  married  life 
for  money  ;  here  bastards  can  become  legitimate, 
and  dishonor  and  shame  may  arrive  at  high 
honors  ;  all  evil  repute  and  disgrace  is  knighted 
and  ennobled  ;  here  a  marriage  is  suffered  that  is 
in  a  forbidden  degree  or  has  some  other  defect. 
Oh,  what  a  trafficking  and  plundering  is  there  ! 
One  would  think  that  the  canon  laws  were  onlv  so 


BEGINNING    OF    EEFORMATION    IN    GEEMANY.     205 

many  ropes  of  gold,  from  which  lie  must  free  him- 
self who  would  become  a  Christian  man.  Nay, 
here  the  devil  becomes  a  saint  and  a  god  besides." 

The  third  part  of  the  address  is  devoted  to 
' '  twenty-seven  articles  respecting  the  reformation 
of  the  Christian  estate."  Luther's  Avork  was  not 
simply  critical  and  destructive  ;  in  the  latter  part 
of  this  great  polemic  document  he  shows  himself 
equally  strong  as  a  constructive  reformer.  His 
keen  discernment  recognizes  not  only  the  existing 
evils,  but  also  the  suitable  remedies.  To  amelior- 
ate the  spiritual  condition  of  German}^  he  proposes, 
among  other  things,  that  every  form  of  Papal  exac- 
tion, such  as  the  annats,  sale  of  benefices,  and  of 
confirmations  by  the  Pope,  l)e  j)rohibited  ;  that 
temporal  matters  be  settled  by  the  princes  without 
the  interference  of  Rome  ;  that  the  number  of 
Papal  officers  should  be  diminished  ;  that  the  ter- 
rible oaths  binding  the  bishoi)s  to  the  Pope  should 
be  abolished  ;  that  the  emperor  should  be  inde- 
pendent of  the  Pope  ;  that  the  Pope  should  sur- 
render his  claim  to  the  temporal  sovereignty  of 
Naples  and  Sicily  ;  that  the  mendicant  orders 
should  ])e  abolished,  or,  at  least,  restricted  ;  that 
priests  should  be  allowed  to  marry  ;  that  festivals, 
processions,  and  masses  for  the  dead  should  be 
done  away  with,  or  at  least  dimished  in  number; 
and  that  the  universities,  ' '  where  the  blind  heathen 
teacher,  Aristotle,  rules  even  further  than  Christ," 
should  undergo  a  thorough  reformation. 

In  concluding  this  powerful  treatise,  Luther  says 
with  fearless  and  heroic  spirit :  "I  dare  say  I  have 
sung  a  lofty  strain,  that  I  have  proposed  many 
things  that  wall  be  thought  impossible,  and  at- 
tacked many  points  too  sharply.  But  what  was  I 
to  do  ?  This  I  was  bound  to  say  ;  if  I  had  the 
power,  this  is  what  I  Avould  do.      I  had  rather 


20G  THE    REFORxMATION    DAWN. 

incur  the  world's  anger  than  God's;  they  cannot 
take  from  me  more  than  my  hfe.  I  have  hitherto 
made  many  offers  of  peace  to  my  adversaries. 
But,  as  I  see,  God  has  forced  me,  through  them, 
to  open  my  mouth  wider  and  wider." 

This  uncompromising  polemical  pamphlet, 
though  it  frightened  some  of  Luther's  friends,  was 
welcomed  by  a  large  part  of  the  German  peoj^le. 
It  gave  voice  to  their  feelings  and  definiteness  to 
their  aspirations.  In  a  short  time  four  thousand 
copies  were  distributed,  and  a  new  edition  called 
for.  It  was  fittingly  characterized  by  Lange  as  "a 
war-trumpet. "  "  The  reformer, ' '  to  use  the  words 
of  Kostlin,  ' '  who  at  first  desired  only  to  open  and 
teach  the  true  way  of  salvation  to  souls,  and  to 
battle  for  this  with  the  sword  of  His  Word,  has  in- 
deed taken,  in  a  decided  and  imj^etuous  manner, 
that  other  step,  by  which  he  demands  the  abolish- 
ment of  the  illegal  and  antichristian  outward 
forms  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  even  calls  the 
temporal  powers  with  their  weapons,  if  need  be,  to 
assistance."  ^^ 

The  second  of  Luther's  great  "  primary  works  " 
was  entitled  ' '  Concerning  Christian  Liberty. ' '  It 
begins  with  the  paradox  that  ' '  a  Christian  man  is 
the  most  free  lord  of  all,  and  subject  to  none  ;  a 
Christian  man  is  the  most  dutiful  servant  of  all, 
and  subject  to  everyone."  He  is  free  through 
faith,  and  a  servant  through  love.  Though  far 
less  polemical  in  tone  than  the  ' '  Address  to  the 
Nobility, "  it  is  not  less  fundamental  and  far-reach- 
ing in  its  statement  of  evangehcal  principles.  It 
asserts  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Scriptures, 
teaches  justification  by  faith  alone,  and  argues  the 
necessity  of  good  works,  not  as  a  ground  of  par- 
don, but  as  a  fruit  of  the  new  life.     It  is  dedicated 

*  Kostliu's  "  Life  of  Luther,"  p.  186. 


BEGINNING    OF    REFOR.AIATIO.N    JN    GERMANY.     '207 

to  Pope  Leo  X.,  to  whom,  while  })i'ofessiiig  a  pro- 
found respect,  Luther  nevertheless  reufHrms,  in 
the  strongest  language,  his  charges  of  Papal  cle- 
pravit3\  ' '  For  many  years  now, ' '  he  courageously 
says  to  the  Pontiff,  ' '  nothing  else  has  overflowed 
from  Rome  into  the  world — as  j^ou  are  not  ignor- 
ant— than  the  laying  waste  of  goods,  of  bodies, 
and  of  souls,  and  the  worst  examples  of  all  the 
worst  things.  These  things  are  clearer  than  the 
light  to  all  men  ;  and  the  Church  of  Rome,  for- 
merly the  most  holy  of  all  churches,  has  become 
the  most  lawless  den  of  thieves,  the  most  shame- 
less of  all  brothels,  the  very  kingdom  of  sin,  death, 
and  hell ;  so  that  not  even  antichrist,  if  he  were 
to  come,  could  devise  any  addition  to  its  wicked- 
ness. ' ' 

The  Christian  is  justified,  Luther  maintains,  not 
by  outward  things  of  whatever  character  they  may 
be,  but  by  "the  most  holy  Word  of  God,  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ."  The  intervention  of  Poj^es  and 
priests  is  not  necessary.  ' '  Let  us,  therefore,  hold 
it  for  certain  and  firmly  established,"  he  says, 
' '  that  the  soul  can  do  without  everything,  except 
the  Word  of  God,  without  which  none  at  all  of  its 
wants  are  provided  for.  But  having  the  Word,  it 
is  rich  and  wants  for  nothing,  since  that  is  the 
word  of  life,  of  truth,  of  light,  of  peace,  of  justi- 
fication, of  salvation,  of  joy,  of  liberty,  of  wisdom, 
of  virtue,  of  grace,  of  glory,  and  of  every  good 
thing." 

Faith,  by  which  alone  the  soul  is  justified,  brings 
us  into  harmony  with  the  divine  wdll,  leads  us  to 
the  deepest  veneration  for  Him  in  whom  we  be- 
lieve, and,  abolishing  all  false  and  artificial  distinc- 
tions, makes  all  believers  kings  and  priests  unto 
God.  It  does  away  with  the  terrible  ecclesiastical 
tyranny,  under  which  ' '  the  knowledge  of  Christian 


208  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

grace,  of  faith,  and  of  liberty,  and  altogether  of 
Christ,  has  utterly  perished,  and  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  an  intolerable  Ijondage  to  human  w(^rks 
and  laws  ;  and,  according  to  the  Lamentations  of 
Jeremiah,  we  have  l^ecome  the  slaves  of  the  vilest 
men  on  earth,  who  abuse  our  misery  to  all  the  dis- 
graceful and  ignominious  purposes  of  their  own 
will." 

Faith  leads  to  a  willing  service  of  our  fellow-man, 
even  as  Christ  gave  Himself  for  us.  It  introduces 
a  reign  of  love  and  helpfulness.  "Thus  from 
faith,"  Luther  says,  in  summing  up  his  argument, 
''  flow  forth  love  and  joy  in  the  Lord,  and  from  love 
a  cheerful,  willing,  free  spirit,  disposed  to  serve  our 
neighbor  voluntarily,  without  taking  any  account 
of  gratitude  or  ingratitude,  praise  or  blame,  gain 
or  loss.  Its  object  is  not  to  lay  men  under  obliga- 
tions, nor  does  it  distinguish  between  friends  and 
enemies,  or  look  to  gratitude  or  ingratitude,  but 
most  freely  and  willingly  spends  itself  and  its 
goods,  whether  it  loses  them  through  ingratitude 
or  gains  good-will.  For  this  did  its  Father,  distrib- 
uting all  things  to  all  men  abundantly  and  freely  ; 
making  His  sun  to  rise  upon  the  just  and  the 
unjust." 

The  treatise  is  written  with  deep  conviction  and 
spiritual  insight.  It  shows  Luther's  calm,  firm 
hold  on  evangelical  truth,  and  the  lofty  ethical 
plane  to  which  he  would  elevate  human  life.  It 
is  infiniteh^  al)ove  the  externalities  inculcated  by 
the  Roman  Church.  It  is  one  of  the  reformer's 
noblest  writings,  and  embodies  in  brief  compass 
the  evangelical  system  of  faith  and  works,  to  which 
Luther  would  gladly  have  given  his  life,  had  he  not 
been  called  to  battle  by  the  selfish  enemies  of  the 
truth.  In  concluding  his  dedicatory  letter  to  Leo 
X. ,  he  says  :   ' '  By  this  you  may  perceive  in  what 


BEGINNING    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.    209 

pursuits  I  should  prefer  and  be  able  to  occupy  my- 
self to  more  profit,  if  I  were  allowed,  or  had  hith- 
erto been  allowed,  by  your  impious  tiatterers.  It 
is  a  small  matter,  if  you  look  to  its  exterior  ;  but, 
unless  I  mistake,  it  is  a  summary  of  the  Christian 
life  put  together  in  small  compass,  if  you  appre- 
hend its  meaning." 

The  third  of  Luther's  "primary  works"  is  the 
' '  Babylonish  Captivity  of  the  Church. "  It  is  a 
polemical  treatise,  in  which  Luther  recognizes  the 
advances  he  has  made.  In  place  of  all  his  i)re- 
Vious  writings  on  indulgences,  which  he  has  main- 
tained were  not  to  be  wholly  rejected,  he  wishes  to 
substitute  this  unqualified  declaration  :  ' '  Indul- 
gences are  wicked  devices  of  the  flatterers  of 
Rome."  He  had  hitherto  recognized  the  human, 
though  not  the  divine,  right  of  the  Papacy  ;  but, 
thanks  to  Eck,  Emser,  and  others,  he  now  utterly 
rejects  its  claims.  "  I  now  know  and  am  sure," 
he  declares,  ' '  that  the  Papacy  is  the  kingdom  of 
Babylon  and  the  power  of  Ximrod,  the  mighty 
hunter. ' ' 

The  ' '  Babylonish  Captivity "  is  a  thorough- 
going attack  upon  the  sacramental  system  of  the 
Roman  Church.  It  is  aimed  at  a  vital  point. 
With  the  number  of  the  sacraments  diminished, 
and  with  their  administration  rightly  explained, 
the  mediatorial  office  of  the  priesthood  disappears. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  Luther  substitutes  faith  for 
externality.  Every  sacrament,  he  explains,  in- 
volves a  word  of  divine  promise,  which  the  recip- 
ient must  believe.  ' '  I  must  deny, ' '  he  says,  ' '  that 
there  are  seven  sacraments,  and  must  lay  it  down, 
for  the  time  being,  that  there  are  only  three — bap- 
tism, penance,  and  the  bread — and  that  by  the 
Court  of  Rome  all  these  have  been  brought  into 
miserable  bondage,  and  the  Church  despoiled  of  all 
14 


210  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

her  liberty. ' '  Accordingly,  he  rejects  confirmation, 
matrimony,  orders,  extreme  unction,  and,  later, 
also  penance,  as  sacraments. 

The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supj^er,  as  Luther 
shows,  had  been  perverted  or  brought  into  bondage 
in  three  ways  :  1.  It  was  administered  to  the  laity 
in  a  mutilated  form  by  withholding  the  cuj:^  ;  2. 
Its  nature  was  misrepresented  by  the  newly  de- 
vised doctrine  of  tran substantiation  ;  and  3.  Its 
true  use  was  perverted  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass. 
He  characterizes  the  withholding  of  the  cup  as 
"  an  act  of  impiety  and  tyranny;"  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  he  pronounces  ' '  a  figment  of 
human  opinion  ; ' '  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  he 
declares,  has  "made  this  divine  sacrament  a  mere 
subject  of  traffic,  huckstering,  and  monej^-getting 
contracts."  In  the  words  of  institution,  the  re- 
former says,  ' '  and  absolutely  in  nothing  else,  lies 
the  whole  force,  nature,  and  substance  of  the  mass. 
All  the  rest  are  human  notions,  accessory  to  the 
words  of  Christ ;  and  the  mass  can  perfectly  well 
subsist  and  be  kept  up  without  them."  The 
only  thing  required  for  the  worthy  reception  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  a  faith  that  rests  with  confidence 
upon  the  divine  promise  contained  in  the  words, 
' '  given  and  shed  for  you. ' ' 

In  like  manner  faith  is  necessary  in  baptism. 
"  It  is  not  baptism,"  Luther  says,  "which  justifies 
any  man,  or  is  of  any  advantage  ;  but  faith  in  that 
word  of  promise  to  which  baptism  is  added  ;  for 
this  justifies  and  fulfills  the  meaning  of  baptism." 
This  truth  he  emphasizes  in  a  subsequent  para- 
graph :  ' '  Let  us  then  open  our  eyes,  and  learn  to 
look  more  to  the  word  than  to  the  sign,  more  to 
faith  than  to  the  work  or  use  of  the  sign  ;  and  let 
us  understand  that  wherever  there  is  a  divine  pro- 
mise, there  faith  is  required  ;   and  that  both  of 


BEGINNING    OF    EEFOKMATION    IN    GERMANY.    211 

these  are  so  neeessary  that  neither  can  be  of  any 
effect  without  the  other.  We  can  neither  beheve 
unless  we  have  a  promise,  nor  is  the  promise  effec- 
tual unless  it  is  believed  ;  while  if  these  two  act 
reciprocally,  they  produce  a  real  and  sure  efficacy 
in  the  sacraments.  Hence  to  seek  efficacy  in  the 
sacrament  independently  of  the  promise  and  of 
faith  is  to  strive  in  vain  and  to  fall  into  condem- 
nation." This  doctrine,  it  Avill  be  i)erceived,  is 
directly  opposed  to  the  Papal  teaching  of  the  efff- 
cacy  of  the  sacraments  ex  opcre  operato. 

Meanwhile,  a  Papal  bull,  bearing  date  June 
15th,  1520,  had  been  prepared  against  Luther. 
His  heroic  spirit,  which  no  longer  sought  reconcil- 
iation with  the  antichrist  of  Rome,  remained  un- 
daunted. In  the  concluding  paragraph  of  the 
"Babylonish  Captivity,"  he  defiantly  says  :  "I 
hear  a  report  that  fresh  Inills  and  Papal  curses  are 
being  prepared  against  me,  ])y  which  I  am  to  be 
urged  to  recant,  or  else  to  be  declared  a  heretic. 
If  this  is  true,  I  wish  this  little  book  to  be  a  part 
of  my  future  recantation,  that  they  may  not  com- 
plain that  their  tyranny  has  puffed  itself  up  in 
vain. ' ' 

The  Papal  bull  was  brought  to  Germany  in 
August^  1520,  by  Eck.  It  is  an  elaborate  docu- 
ment. After  invoking  God  and  all  the  saints  to 
defend  the  Church  against  the  new  heresy,  it  cites 
fortj^-one  errors  selected  from  the  works  of  the  re- 
former, among  which  are  the  following  :  ' '  XVI. 
It  would  be  well  for  the  Church,  in  a  general 
council,  to  resolve  that  the  laity  should  commune 
under  both  forms.  XVII.  The  treasures  of  the 
Church,  from  which  the  Pope  gives  indulgences, 
are  not" the  merits  of  Christ  and  the  saints.  XIX. 
Indulgences  do  not  avail,  where  truly  received,  to 
remit   the  punishment  which   divine  justice  de- 


212  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

mands  for  actual  sins.  XX.  They  are  deceived 
who  believe  that  indulgences  bring  salvation  and 
a  spiritual  benefit.  XXXIII.  To  burn  heretics  is 
against  the  will  of  the  Spirit.  XXXVII.  Pur- 
gatory cannot  be  proved  from  the  canonical  Scrip- 
tures." * 

After  condemning  the  citations  as  contrary  to 
the  Roman  doctrine,  the  Pope  forbids  them  to  be 
taught,  and  orders  the  works  of  Luther  to  be  dil- 
igently collected  and  burned.  The  reformer  and 
his  adherents  are  given  sixty  days  to  recant,  and 
after  that  time  they  are  to  be  condemned  as  here- 
tics, and  handed  over  to  the  secular  arm  for  pun- 
ishment. The  adherents  of  the  Papacy  are  warned 
against  association  Avith  the  Lutheran  heretics,  and 
are  charged  to  arrest  and  deliver  them  to  Rome, 
' '  to  receive  in  return  for  so  good  a  work  due  re- 
muneration and  reward."  Any  city,  land,  or 
other  place  giving  Luther  and  his  followers  shelter 
or  protection  is  to  be  placed  under  an  interdict, 
and  everyone  is  warned  against  opposing  the  bull 
under  penalty  of  the  divine  anger. 

The  bull  was  not  favorably  received  in  Ger- 
many. While  it  was  posted  in  a  few  cities  and 
Luther''s  works  were  pul^licly  committed  to  the 
flames,  it  elsewhere  excited  opposition  and  con- 
tempt. At  Leipzig  Eck  was  mobbed  by  a  crowd 
of  students,  and  fled  from  the  city  under  cover  of 
night.  At  Erfurt  the  bull  was  torn  to  pieces  by 
the  students,  and  thrown  into  the  river  with  the 
words  :  "  It  is  a  bulla  (bubble),  let  it  float."  At 
Wittenberg  the  rector  of  the  Lhiiversity  refused  to 
])ublish  it  under  the  pretext  that  it  had  not  been 
delivered  to  him  in  due  form. 

Luther's  fearless  courage  did  not  desert  him. 

*  Schaft''s  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  VI.,  p.  235,  in  Latin, 
and  Jacobs' s  "  Martin  Luther,"  p.  413,  in  English. 


BEGINNING    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.    213 

In  November  he  published  a  tract,  entitled 
'  'Against  the  Bull  of  Antichrist. ' '  He  justly  com- 
plains that  his  doctrines  are  condemned  without 
refutation.  He  examines  the  first  twelve  articles 
condemned  in  the  bull,  and,  finding  them  conso- 
nant with  evangelical  truth,  he  concludes  as  fol- 
lows :  ' '  Therefore  I  will  herewith  have  everyone 
put  on  his  guard  and  admonished,  that  he  may 
beware  of  such  devils,  and  will  give  a  sign,  namely, 
this  :  If  the  Pope  does  not  revoke  and  condemn 
this  bull,  and  rebuke  Dr.  Eck  and  his  clique,  as 
the  executors  of  such  bull,  then  no  one  is  to  doubt 
but  that  the  Pope  is  the  enemy  of  God,  the  perse- 
cutor of  Christ,  the  destroyer  of  His  Church,  and 
the  true  antichrist.  For  thus  far  it  has  never  yet 
been  heard  of  that  anyone  has  condemned  the 
plain,  manifest  Christian  truth,  as  this  hellish,  ac- 
cursed bull  does." 

But  shortly  afterward  Luther  took  a  still  bolder 
step.  On  December  20th,  1520,  the  university 
bulletin  board  contained  the  following  announce- 
ment :  "All  friends  of  evangelical  truth  are  in- 
vited to  assemble  about  nine  o'clock  at  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Cross  beyond  the  city  wall.  There, 
according  to  ancient,  apostolic  usage,  the  godless 
books  of  the  Papal  constitutions  and  the  scholastic 
theology  will  be  burned,  inasmuch  as  the  i)re- 
sumption  of  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  has  ad- 
vanced to  such  a  degree  that  they  have  cast  the 
godly,  evangelical  books  of  Luther  into  the  fire. 
Let  all  earnest  students,  therefore,  appear  at  the 
spectacle  ;  for  it  is  now  the  time  when  antichrist 
must  be  exposed. ' ' 

Accordingly,  a  large  throng  of  professors  and 
students  assembled  at  the  designated  place.  A 
fire  was  lighted,  and,  as  the  flames  brightly 
burned,  Luther  cast  into  them  the  hated  canonical 


214  THE    REFORMATION   DAWN. 

law,  and  then  the  Papal  bull,  with  the  words, 
' '  Because  thou  dost  trouble  the  Holy  One  of  the 
Lord,  may  eternal  fire  consume  thee. ' '  While  the 
books  were  still  burning,  he  returned  to  the  city. 
In  a  letter  to  Staupitz  he  confesses  ' '  that  he  went 
forth  that  morning  with  trembling  and  prayer,  but 
returned  with  greater  joy  than  over  any  previous 
act  of  his  life. ' ' 

The  burning  of  the  canonical  law,  by  which  the 
Papal  power  was  chiefly  upheld,  and  the  Papal 
bull,  by  which  evangelical  truth  was  condemned, 
was  with  Luther  a  solemn  and  religious  act.  It 
proclaimed  his  uncompromising  and  final  rejection 
of  the  whole  Pajoal  system.  The  next  day,  after 
finishing  his  lecture  on  the  Psalms,  he  solemnly 
warned  his  hearers  against  the  errors  and  abomi- 
nations of  the  Papacy.  ^'  If  you  do  not,"  he  said 
with  great  earnestness,  "oppose  Avith  all  your 
heart  the  wicked  government  of  the  Papacy,  you 
cannot  be  saved,  for  the  kingdom  of  the  Pope  is 
so  utterly  opposed  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  to 
Christian  life,  that  it  would  be  better  and  safer  to 
live  in  a  wilderness,  Avithout  any  human  being 
near,  than  in  and  under  the  kingdom  of  anti- 
christ." 

He  fully  recognized  the  danger  of  the  step  lie 
was  taking.  While  urging  his  auditors  to  bear 
testimony  against  Papal  errors  of  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice, he  warns  them  that  in  so  doing  they  jeopar- 
dize body  and  life.  ' '  For  my  own  part, ' '  he  con- 
tinues Avith  deep  loyalty  to  the  truth,  "I  shall 
rather  incur  all  manner  of  perils  in  this  world 
than  charge  my  conscience  Avith  keeping  silence, 
for  which  I  Avould  haA^e  to  render  an  account  to 
God.  As  I  therefore  have,  for  some  time  past, 
Avith  my  Avhole  heart,  resisted  the  raving  monster 
at  Rome,  I  consider  the  Babylonian  plague  and 


BEGINNING    OF    REFORMATION    IN    GERMANY.     2lb 

pestilence  an  abomination,  and  .shall,  as  long  as  I 
live,  point  this  out  to  my  brethren  and  warn  them. 
If  withal  I  cannot  prevent  the  appalling  ruin  and 
destruction  of  innumerable  souls,  yet  some  among 
us  can  be  rescued,  so  that  they  be  not  cast  into  the 
abyss  of  hell  along  with  the  rest." 

The  reformation  had  dawned  in  Germany.  Its 
further  progress  and  its  ultimate  triumph  there  can- 
not be  traced  in  detail.  In  1521  Luther  av as  sum- 
moned before  the  Diet  of  AVorms,  where,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  he  exhibited 
a  heroic  spirit.  Rejecting  the  authority  of  Popes 
and  councils,  he  refused  to  recant  unless  convinced 
by  clear  reasoning  or  by  sacred  Scripture.  At  the 
Wartburg,  where  he  was  confined  for  a  time  by  the 
friendly  intervention  of  the  Elector  Frederick,  he 
began  the  translation  of  the  Bible,  which  he  sub- 
sequently completed  with  the  help  of  ^lelanchthon 
and  other  scholars.  The  Diet  of  Spires  passed  an 
edict  in  1529  forbidding  the  spread  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  states  that  had  not  already  accepted  it. 
A  formal  protest  on  the  part  of  the  evangelical 
princes  fixed  upon  the  reformatory  movement  the 
name  of  Protestant.  At  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  in 
1530,  at  which  the  emperor  was  present  in  per- 
son, the  Lutheran  confession  of  faith,  preparer!  by 
Melanchthon  and  approved  ]>y  Luther,  Avas  pre- 
sented. It  has  since  been  known  as  the  Augsburg 
Confession.  Leagues  and  counter-leagues  were 
formed  among  the  German  princes,  followed  by 
the  Schmalkald  War  in  1546.  Though  the  em- 
peror was  hostile  to  the  Protestant  or  reformatory 
movement,  and  willing  to  suppress  it  by  fon^e,  his 
hands  were  tied  by  the  Turks,  who  were  threaten- 
ing Germany,  and  by  the  French,  who  wished  to 
estabhsh  themselves  in  Italy.  He  never  felt 
strong  enough  to  dare  to  alienate  the  Protestant 


216  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

princes.  Evangelical  state  churches,  beginning 
Avith  that  of  Electoral  Saxony,  were  formed 
throughout  northern  Germany.  At  last,  after 
many  vicissitudes  and  dangers,  the  Religious 
Peace  of  1555  was  concluded,  which  left  every 
prince  free  to  choose  between  the  Papacy  and  the 
Augsburg  Confession.  The  battle  for  evangelical 
truth  and  rehgious  freedom  had  been  fought  and 
won. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BEGINNING    OF   THE    REFORMATION    IN    OTHER    PARTS 
OF    EUROPE. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  conditions  favorable  to  a 
reformation  of  the  Church  were  substantially  the 
same  throughout  western  Europe.  Every  country 
alike  felt  the  weight  of  Papal  oppression,  which, 
with  the  growing  national  consciousness  and  the  in- 
creasing popular  intelligence,  became  more  onerous 
and  intolerable.  Thus  it  happened  that,  almost 
contemporaneously  with  the  Reformation  in  Ger- 
many, a  similar,  and,  in  a  measure,  an  independ- 
ent movement  was  going  forward  in  various  other 
countries.  It  was  said  by  the  jubilant  friends  of 
the  Gospel  that,  ' '  as  in  spring  the  breath  of  life  is 
felt  from  the  shores  of  the  sea  to  the  mountain- 
top,  so  the  Spirit  of  God  was  now  melting  through- 
out Christendom  the  ice  of  a  lengthened  winter, 
and  covering  it  Avith  fresh  flowers  and  verdure, 
from  its  lowest  plains  to  its  most  Ijarren  and  steep- 
est rocks."  * 

1.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
Switzerland  comprised  thirteen  small  repul^lics  or 
cantons,  which  may  be  roughly  divided  into  the 
cantons  of  the  mountains  and  the  cantons  of  the 
plains.  No  hardier  or  braver  people  were  to  be 
found  in  Europe.  By  their  own  unaided  might 
they  had  freed  themselves  from  Austrian  oppres- 
sion, and  within  the  vast  citadel  of  their  mountain 

*  D'Aubigne's  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  II.,  p.  280. 

(217) 


218  THE    REFORMATION    DAWX. 

home  they  were  impregnable  against  every  assault. 
The  government  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  peo- 
ple— a  fact  that  gave  the  Reformation  in  Switzer- 
land its  peculiar  features.  But  elements  of  discord 
were  not  lacking.  The  cantons  of  the  plains,  in 
which  lay  the  cities  of  Geneva,  Basely  and  Zurich, 
were  less  conservative  than  the  cantons  of  the 
mountains.  The  former  were  more  intelligent  and 
more  accessible  to  new  ideas.  Furthermore,  the 
Swiss  were  frequently  lured  abroad  as  mercenary 
soldiers  in  the  service  of  the  Pope,  the  Emperor, 
or  the  King  of  France.  In  this  wa}-  the  native 
l)urity  of  their  manners  was  corrupted,  and  dis- 
cordant elements  were  introduced  into  the  country. 

Zwingli  was  the  pioneer  reformer  of  Switzerland 
as  Tuther  was  of  Germany.  Both  alike  Avere  aided 
l)y  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  coadjutors.  But 
the  two  men  were  different  in  character  and  train- 
ing. Luther  possessed  a  deeper  religious  nature, 
which  was  developed  by  his  severe  monastic  ti-ain- 
ing.  He  came  to  a  knowledge  of  evangelical  truth 
through  profound  spiritual  conflicts.  He  painfully 
ascended  step  by  step  to  that  eminence  from  wdiich 
he  clearly  discerned  the  errors  and  tyrannies  of 
Rome.  Zwingli  came  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth 
through  the  path  of  humanism.  He  w^as  a  follower 
of  Erasmus.  His  study  of  the  Scriptures,  particu- 
larly of  the  New^  Testament  in  the  Greek,  led  him, 
without  deep  spiritual  conflicts,  to  a  recognition  of 
the  unevangelical  character  of  the  claims  and  prac- 
tice of  the  Papacy.  AMth  him  reason  counted  for 
more  than  the  heart. 

Ulrich  Zwingli  was  born  of  honorable  family  on 
New  Year's  day,  1484,  seven  weeks  after  the  birth 
of  Luther.  His  boyhood  gave  promise  of  future 
eminence.  He  was  educated  at  Basel  and  Vienna, 
where  he  mastered  not  onlv  the  Latin  and  Greek 


KEFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  219 

cdiissics,  but  also  scholastic  theology.  At  Basel  he 
studied  under  the  celebrated  scholar,  Wyttenbach, 
who  first  revealed  to  him  the  treasures  of  evangel- 
ical truth.  ' '  This  pious  man  taught  oj^enly  and 
boldly, ' '  in  the  words  of  Grob,  ' '  that  purgatory, 
the  mass,  priestly  rule,  and  the  invocation  of  saints 
were  in  direct  conflict  with  the  Word  of  God  ;  that 
the  time  was  not  far  distant  when  scholastic  theol- 
ogy would  be  abolished,  and  the  ancient  doctrine 
of  the  Church  be  restored  on  the  foundation  of  tl.e 
Bible  ;  that  absolution  was  a  priestly  fraud,  and 
the  death  of  Christ  the  only  satisfaction  for  sins. ' '  * 
Here  he  met  Leo  Jucla,  a  fellow-student,  with 
whom  a  few  years  later  he  produced  the  famous 
Zurich  version  of  the  Scriptures. 

In  1506  Zwingli  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by 
the  Bishop  of  Constance,  and  entered  upon  his  pas- 
toral work  in  the  parish  of  Glarus.  He  studied  the 
Scriptures  with  extraordinary  zeal.  He  transcribed 
the  Epistles  of  Paul  in  the  original,  and  learned 
them  by  heart.  He  conformed  his  preaching  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  New  Testament,  and  thus,  with- 
out knowing  it,  became  a  reformer.  ' '  Let  us  be- 
lieve and  obey, ' '  he  said,  ^ '  what  is  revealed  to  us 
in  the  Word  of  God.  Whatsoever  is  not  found 
in  it  must  be  regarded  as  superfluous  ;  and  what- 
soever is  against  it,  as  erroneous  and  untrue." 

Zwingli' s  eyes  were  not  at  once  opened  to  the 
selfish  and  ambitious  character  of  the  Papacy,  and 
he  was  persuaded  to  accept  for  a  time  a  pension  of 
fifty  florins.  This  pension  was  bestowed  in  order 
to  secure  his  influence  among  the  people  of  Glarus, 
where  the  Pope  was  anxious  to  raise  a  large  num- 
ber of  mercenary  soldiers.  Zwingli  accompanied 
his  people  on  two  expeditions  to  Italy,  and  was 
present  at  the  disastrous  ]>attle  of  Marignano.    His 

*  Jean  Grob's  ''Life  of  Zwingli,"  p.  32, 


220  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

experience  revealed  to  him,  not  only  the  sordid 
])olicy  of  the  Pope,  but  also  the  demoralizing  effects 
of  the  foreign  service  of  the  Swiss  troops.  He  was 
a  patriot  as  well  as  a  theologian  ;  and  henceforth 
his  voice  was  raised  against  the  mercenary  system 
that  was  bringing  demoralization  and  ruin  upon 
his  native  country. 

After  ten  years  of  faithful  and  acceptable  service 
at  Glarus,  Zwingli  was  transferred,  in  1516,  to 
Einsiedeln.  This  monastery  possessed  a  famous 
image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  which  annually  drew 
thousands  of  pilgrims  from  other  parts  of  Switzer- 
land, from  Alsace,  and  southern  Germany.  The 
credulous  throngs  prayed  to  the  image,  which  was 
credited  with  miraculous  powers,  and  bestowed 
upon  it  valuable  gifts.  As  a  result  the  monastery 
grew  richer  and  more  famous.  It  was  the  duty  of 
Zwingli  to  preach  to  the  pilgrims.  Though  it  was 
to  the  interest  of  himself  and  of  the  monastery  to 
confirm  the  throngs  in  their  superstition,  he  was 
loyal  to  the  Gospel,  and  fearlessly  exposed  the 
errors  of  the  Church.  In  1517,  when  the  abbey 
Avas  filled  to  overflowing,  he  boldly  declared  that 
"  remission  of  sins  and  everlasting  life  were  not  to 
be  sought  of  the  holy  Virgin,  but  of  Christ ;  that 
absolution,  pilgrimages,  and  vows,  and  the  presents 
made  to  saints  have  no  value  ;  that  God's  grace 
and  help  are  everywhere  within  reach  ;  and  that 
he  hears  prayer  at  other  places  as  well  as  at  Ein- 
siedeln ;  that  the  excessive  veneration  of  the  holy 
Virgin  was  prejudicial  to  God's  glory;  that,  as  there 
is  no  purgatory,  the  masses  for  the  soul  are  useless  ; 
that  the  merit  which  some  thought  to  gain  by 
assuming  monastic  vows  was  pure  imagination  ; 
and  that  not  Mary,  but  Christ,  is  our  only  salva- 
tion." 

Zwingli  was   not   frightened  by  the  danger  to 


REFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  221 

which  his  fearless  preacliing  exposed  him.  Like 
Luther,  he  possessed  the  genuine  martyr  spirit. 
His  sermons  diminished  the  number  of  pilgrims, 
many  of  whom  carried  home  with  them  the  pres- 
ents intended  for  the  Virgin.  When  the  prior 
of  the  monastery  expressed  his  anxiety,  Zwingli 
strengthened  and  comforted  him  with  these  words  : 
' '  Once  for  all,  we  must  determine  to  cling  insepa- 
rably to  right,  truth,  and  God,  though  with  the  loss 
of  property  and  life.  Once  for  all,  we  must  ven- 
ture and  expose  ourselves  to  the  danger  of  death 
for  the  truth,  and  to  confirm  the  mind  against  all 
the  attacks  of  the  flesh,  the  world,  and  the  devil." 

While  Zwingli  was  at  Einsiedeln,  a  Franciscan 
friar,  Samson,  crossed  the  Alps  to  vend  indulgences 
in  Switzerland.  He  was  scarcely  less  shameless 
than  Tetzel  in  this  infamous  traffic.  "  I  can  par- 
don all  sins, ' '  exclaimed  the  Italian  monk  ;  ' '  Hea- 
ven and  hell  are  subject  to  my  power  ;  and  I  sell 
the  merits  of  Christ  to  any  who  will  purchase  them 
by  buying  an  indulgence  for  ready  money."  He 
claimed  the  power  to  forgive,  not  only  sins  of  the 
past,  but  also  sins  of  the  future.  In  the  light  of 
the  Gospel,  Zwingli  denounced  the  indulgence 
error  and  imposture.  "  No  man,"  he  exclaimed, 
' '  can  remit  sins  ;  Christ,  who  is  very  God  and 
very  man,  alone  has  this  power.  Go  and  buy  in- 
dulgences, but  be  assured  that  you  are  not  absolved. 
Those  who  sell  remission  of  sins  for  money  are  the 
companions  of  Simon  the  magician,  the  friends  of 
Balaam,  and  the  ambassadors  of  Satan."  Evan- 
gelical truth  soon  gained  the  ascendency,  and  Sam- 
son was  finally  driven  from  the  country. 

The  fame  of  Zwingli  as  a  courageous  evangelical 
preacher  spread  throughout  Switzerland.  He  had 
the  sympathy  and  support  of  many  pious,  schol- 
arly men,  Avho  longed  for  deliverance  from  Papal 


222  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

error  and  oppression.  At  the  close  of  1518  he  was 
called  to  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Zurich.  ' '  You 
will  make  every  exertion, ' '  the  canons,  who  feared 
innovation,  gravely  said  to  him,  ' '  to  collect  the 
revenues  of  the  Chapter,  without  overlooking  the 
least.  You  will  exhort  the  faithful,  both  from  the 
pulpit  and  in  the  confessional,  to  pay  all  tithes  and 
dues,  and  to  show  by  their  offerings  their  affection 
to  the  Church.  You  will  be  diligent  in  increasing 
the  income  arising  from  the  sick,  from  masses,  and 
in  general  from  every  ecclesiastical  ordinance."  * 

But  Zwingli's  conception  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry was  beyond  mere  money-getting.  ' '  The  life 
of  Christ,"  he  replied,  ''  has  been  too  long  hidden 
from  the  people.  I  shall  preach  upon  the  whole 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  chapter  after  chapter,  ac- 
cording to  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  with- 
out human  commentaries,  drawing  solely  from  the 
fountain  of  Scripture,  sounding  its  depths,  com- 
paring one  passage  with  another,  and  seeking  for 
understanding  by  constant  and  earnest  prayer.  It 
is  to  God's  glory,  to  the  praise  of  His  only  Son,  to 
the  real  salvation  of  souls,  and  to  their  edification 
in  the  true  faith,  that  I  shall  consecrate  mv  min- 
istry." 

He  was  frequently  led  to  speak  of  the  evils  ex- 
isting in  the  Church.  In  a  sermon  ])reached  in 
1524,  he  discussed  the  condition  of  the  cloisters. 
He  defined  worship,  according  to  the  teaching  of 
the  apostle,  as  visiting  widows  and  orphans  in 
their  affliction,  and  keeping  one's  self  unsj^otted 
from  the  world.  "  The  world  in  this  place,"  he 
said,  ' '  does  not  mean  hill  and  valley,  field  and 
forest,  water,  lakes,  towns,  and  villages,  but  the 
lusts  of  the  ivorld,  as  avarice,  pride,  uncleanness, 
intemperance.     These  vices,   however,    are   more 

*  D'Aubigne's  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  II.,  p.  324. 


REFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  223 

commonly  to  be  met  with  within  the  walls  of  a 
cloister  than  in  the  world  abroad.  I  speak  not  of 
envy  and  hatred,  which  have  their  habitation 
among  this  crew,  and  yet  these  are  all  greater  sins 
than  those  they  would  fain  escape  by  fleeing  to  a 
cloister.  Consider,  ye  monks,  your  revels,  and 
see  how  temperate  you  are  ;  rich  food  along  with 
idleness  avails  not  the  body,  but  ministers  only 
incentives  to  carnal  lusts. "  "i^ 

He  pointed  out  tlie  scandal  arising  from  the 
antiscriptural  law  of  celibacy.  ''  I  know  not  a 
greater  scandal  in  the  world, ' '  he  declared,  ' '  than 
this,  that  priests  are  not  allowed  to  marry,  but 
are  allowed,  against  a  payment  made,  to  keep  con- 
cubines." In  his  "Christian  Introduction,"  a 
brief  theological  manual,  he  thus  speaks  of  the 
erroneous  view  of  the  mass  as  a  sacrifice  :  "  First, 
this  false  opinion  has  begotten  and  nourished  every 
vice.  For  robbers,  usurers,  traitors,  murderers, 
adulterers,  have  thought  that,  if  mass  was  once 
read  for  their  sins,  it  was  all  right  with  them. 
And  resting  on  this,  they  have  sinned  shamelessly 
and  enormously.  This  is  well  seen  in  the  bene- 
fices, foundations,  and  mass-sales.  The  second  in- 
iquit}^  consists  in  this,  that  through  the  mass  so 
much  of  this  earth's  goods  has  been  amassed  and 
taken  for  the  pretended  sacrifice.  And  even  had 
the  mass  been  a  sacrifice,  yet  it  was  horrible  to 
take  money,  wages,  this  world's  chattels,  for  it. 
But  this  was  not  enough  ;  the  wealth  thus  amassed 
was  used  at  will,  was  stolen  from  the  poor  in  cases 
where  it  belonged  to  them,  for  under  this  pretext 
of  saying  mass  the  greatest  part  of  alms  has  been 
rapaciously  seized.  Oppressions  of  all  kinds  have 
been  practiced  through  it."  f 

*  Christoffel's  "  Zwingli ;  or,  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland,"  p.  118. 
t  Christoffel's  "  Zwiugli ;  or,  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland,"  p.  139. 


224  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

The  result  of  all  this  is  not  difficult  to  divine. 
The  faithful  presentation  of  Scriptural  truth 
tended  to  overthrow  the  Papal  system  of  human 
doctrines  and  ordinances.  While  the  friends  of 
the  Gospel  increased,  the  adherents  of  the  Papacy 
became  alarmed.  The  bold  and  eloquent  reformer 
was  attacked,  and  at  last,  in  1522,  the  Bishop  of 
Constance  lodged  a  complaint  against  him  before 
the  Council  of  Zurich.  This  led,  the  following 
year,  to  a  public  disputation,  which  marks  a  turn- 
ing point  in  the  Reformation  of  Switzerland.  On 
this  occasion  Zwingli  submitted  sixty-seven  theses, 
which  contained  a  summary  of  his  doctrinal  views. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  substance  they  are 
identical  with  the  teachings  of  the  German  re- 
formers. They  substitute  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures  for  that  of  the  Church  ;  they  declare 
the  Church  to  be  the  communion  of  saints,  whose 
head  is  Christ  ;  they  affirm  that  salvation  is  to  be 
obtained  only  through  faith  in  Him  as  priest  and 
mediator  ;  and  they  reject  the  invocation  of  saints, 
justification  by  works,  fasts,  pilgrimages,  monastic 
orders,  indulgences,  purgatory,  and  other  inven- 
tions of  the  Papacy. 

The  issue  was  fully  joined.  Zwingli  fairly  tri- 
umphed in  the  disputation  and  silenced  his  Papal 
opponents.  The  city  council,  before  whom  the 
disputation  was  held,  formally  ' '  resolved  that  Dr. 
Ulrich  Zwingli  shall  continue  to  preach,  according 
to  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  best  of  his  ability,  the 
holy  Gosj^el  and  the  divine  AVord.  We  also  com- 
mand all  other  common  priests,  pastors,  and 
preachers  in  our  city  and  province  to  teach  and 
preach  publicly  nothing  but  what  they  find  to 
agree  with  the  holy  Gospel  and  what  can  be 
proved  by  it. " 

From  this  time  the  work  of  reform  made  rapid 


REFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  225 

progress.  It  was  based  on  the  threefold  principle 
of  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  justi- 
fication by  faith,  and  the  priesthood  of  believers. 
Through  a  study  of  the  Gospel,  Luther  and 
Zwingli  came,  independently  of  each  other,  to  a 
recognition  and  proclamation  of  those  truths. 
When  Zwingli  was  accused  of  being  a  Lutheran, 
he  replied  :  ^ '  I  preach  as  Paul  wrote  ;  wh}-  do 
you  not  rather  receive  me  as  an  adherent  of  Paul  ? 
Yea,  I  preach  the  Word  of  Christ  ;  wherefore  do 
you  not  receive  me  as  a  Christian  ?  "  In  Zurich 
there  was  a  return  to  the  simplicity  and  purity  of 
the  early  Church.  The  Latin  language  was  dis- 
continued in  worship  ;  the  incomes  of  the  chap- 
ters and  monasteries  was  applied  to  education  ; 
the  celibacy  of  the  clergy  was  abolished  ;  monks 
and  nuns  were  freed  from  their  vows,  and  image- 
worship  was  declared  to  be  idolatrous.  Similar 
changes  followed  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in 
other  parts  of  Switzerland  ;  and  tlius  for  another 
country  the  light  of  the  Gospel  had  dawned. 

2.  There  is  a  clearly  marked  difference  between 
the  Reformation  in  Germany  and  Switzerland 
and  the  Reformation  in  England.  This  difference 
grew  out  of  the  dissimilar  political  conditions  pre- 
vailing in  these  countries.  Germany  was  divided 
into  a  large  number  of  small,  independent  govern- 
ments, usually  presided  over  by  a  petty  prince. 
In  Switzerland  the  separate  cantons  were  inde- 
pendent republics,  in  which  the  power  rested  with 
the  people.  In  Germany  the  progress  of  the  Ref- 
ormation was  determined  largely  by  the  attitude  of 
individual  princes  ;  in  Switzerland,  by  the  attitude 
of  the  people  ;  but  in  England,  which  was  almost 
an  absolute  monarchy,  the  Reformation  was  in- 
augurated and  determined  by  the  king. 

A  distinctive  feature  of  the  Reformation  in  Eng- 
15 


226  THE    REFORMATIOX   DAWX. 

land  during  its  initiatory  stages  was  its  insignifi- 
cant departure  from  the  doctrine  and  polity  of  the 
Roman  Church.  In  its  beginning  it  was  a  polit- 
ical rather  than  a  religious  movement.  Papal  su- 
premacy was  overthrown,  but  Papal  beliefs  and 
forms  were  retained.  In  the  reformatory  move- 
ments of  Germany  and  Switzerland,  the  figures  of 
Luther  and  Zwingli,  great  theologians  and  preach- 
ers, stand  pre-eminent  as  popular  leaders.  In 
England  there  is  no  such  reformer.  It  is  the  king 
who  starts  and  leads  the  movement  against  Rome, 
not  from  motives  of  deep  religious  conviction,  but 
from  considerations  of  self-seeking  ambition  and  of 
national  security.  It  was  only  after  the  lapse  of 
a  considerable  period  that  the  strong  undercurrent 
of  Protestant  feeling  and  belief  gained  the  as- 
cendency. 

The  leader  of  the  English  Reformation  was 
Henry  VIII. ,  a  sovereign  of  strong  will  and  des- 
potic tendencies.  For  a  time  he  was  a  zealous  ad- 
herent of  the  Papacy.  He  magnified  the  authority 
of  the  Pope  ;  and  in  reply  to  Luther' s  ' '  Baby- 
lonish Captivity  of  the  Church,"  he  wrote  a  de- 
fense of  the  sacramental  system  of  Rome,  for 
which  he  received  from  Leo  X.  the  title  of  ' '  De- 
fender of  the  Faith."  And  when  he  severed  the 
relations  between  England  and  the  See  of  Rome, 
he  was  not  impelled,  like  the  continental  re- 
formers, by  evangelical  truth,  but  by  selfish  pol- 
icy. His  work  shows  in  a  remarkable  way  how 
self-seeking  and  wicked  men  are  sometimes  used 
of  God  to  further  the  interests  of  His  kingdom. 

The  secret  of  Henry  VIIL's  revolt  against 
Rome  was  not,  as  Papal  writers  sometimes  super- 
ficially afiirm,  "beastly  lust,"  but  political  am- 
l;)ition.  He  was  anxious  to  leave  an  heir  of 
unquestionable  legitimacy  to  the  English  throne. 


REFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  22/ 

When  quite  young  he  had  married  Catharine  of 
Aragon,  the  widow  of  his  brother  Arthur.  It  was 
a  marriage  of  pohcy,  designed  to  strengthen  the 
alhance  of  England  with  Spain.  As  marriage 
with  a  brother's  wife  is  expressly  forbidden  l)oth 
by  the  canon  law  and  by  Scripture,  *  it  had  been 
necessary  to  secure  a  dispensation  from  the  Pope 
setting  both  aside  and  authorizing  the  union. 
This  was  a  questionable  proceeding.  The  only 
surviving  child  of  this  marriage  was  the  Princess 
Mary,  whose  legitimacy,  owing  to  the  irregularity 
of  the  marriage,  was  in  danger  of  being  disputed — 
a  fact  that  at  last  gave  the  king  deep  concern. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign,  Henry  VIII. 
had  l)een  in  alliance  with  Spain  and  the  Papacy. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  he  was  a  zealous 
defender  of  the  divine  authority  of  the  Pope. 
The  legitimacy  of  his  marriage  depended  upon  it. 
But  after  the  battle  of  Pavia,  in  1524,  there  came 
a  change  that  wrecked  the  hopes  of  the  English 
king.  The  restoration  of  Francis  I.  frustrated 
his  designs  upon  the  throne  of  France.  Instead 
of  marrying  the  Princess  ^lary,  as  had  been  ar- 
ranged, Charles  V.  espoused  the  Infanta  of  Portu- 
gal, to  whom  he  had  long  been  secretly  engaged. 
The  Pope  formed  an  alliance  with  Francis.  Henry 
VIII.  was  thus  isolated  in  Europe  ;  and  since 
such  powerful  adversaries  might  at  any  time 
question  the  legitimacy  of  his  daughter,  the  suc- 
cession of  the  Princess  ^lary  was  seriously  en- 
dangered. A  new  and  unimpeachable  heir  was 
felt  to  be  a  necessity. 

In  this  great  emergency,  as  he  believed  it  to  be, 
Henry  acted  with  characteristic  Tudor  energy.  He 
resolved  to  divorce  Catharine  and  disinherit  ^lar}^, 
and  then  marry  Anne  Boleyn,  a  charming  maid 

*  Leviticus  xx.  21. 


228  THE    EEFORMATION    DAWN. 

of  honor,  who  had  ah-eady  won  his  favor.  Car- 
dinal Wolse}"  undertook  to  negotiate  the  affair  at 
Rome.  The  Pope  was  placed  in  a  most  embar- 
rassing position.  To  accede  to  the  wishes  and 
plans  of  the  English  monarch  was  to  offend  the 
powerful  Charles  V.,  the  nephew  of  Catharine  of 
Aragon.  Under  the  circumstances,  the  Pope 
adopted  the  only  policy  open  to  him — a  policy  of 
subterfuges  and  dela3's.  The  imperious  Tudor 
became  wrathful.  He  deposed  his  pompous  but 
unsuccessful  minister  Wolsey,  and  henceforth 
took,  in  large  measure,  the  matter  of  divorce  into 
his  own  hands. 

Through  the  influence  of  money  and  of  royal 
power,  the  universities  of  England  and  France, 
to  whom  the  legality  of  the  dispensation  given  by 
Julius  II.  for  the  marriage  with  Catharine  had 
been  submitted,  gave  opinions  favorable  to  the 
plans  of  Henry  VIII.  Thomas  Cromwell  had 
become  Secretary  of  State.  It  was  his  settled 
policy  to  render  the  dominion  of  his  sovereign 
absolute.  To  this  end  he  advised  the  king  to  dis- 
avow the  Papal  jurisdiction,  declare  himself  head 
of  the  Church  in  his  realm,  and  obtain  a  divorce 
from  his  own  ecclesiastical  courts.  The  temper 
of  the  English  people  at  this  time  favored  these 
radical  changes.  Dissatisfaction  with  the  Papacy 
was  general.  The  evangelical  principles  of  the 
German  reformation  were  widely  disseminated. 
The  writings  of  Luther  were  studied  at  Oxford 
and  Cambridge.  The  avarice,  extortion,  and  in- 
consistency of  Papal  representatives  were  apparent 
on  every  hand.  The  subserviency  of  the  Pope  to 
the  will  of  Charles  V.,  who  was  unfriendly  to 
England,  threw  the  weight  of  English  patriotism 
on  the  side  of   Henry.     The  moment  Avas  thus 


REFORMATION  IX  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  229 

favorable  for  independent  and  high-handed 
measures. 

At  the  opening  of  1533  Henry  VIII.,  without 
waiting  for  a  divorce,  was  secretly  married  to 
Anne  Boleyn.  A  few  months  later.  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  See  of 
Canterbury,  annulled  the  king's  marriage  with 
Catharine,  and  pronounced  the  marriage  with 
Anne  a  lawful  union.  A  week  later  he  placed 
upon  Anne's  head  the  English  crown.  The  Pope 
endeavored  to  arrest  the  course  of  events  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  he  was  answered,  first,  by  a  prohibition  of 
the  payment  of  first  fruits  or  annats  into  the  Papal 
treasury,  and  then  by  the  great  Act  of  Supremacy, 
by  which  the  English  Church  was  severed  forever 
from  the  dominion  of  the  See  of  Rome.  In  1534  Par- 
liament enacted  a  statute  declaring  that  the  king 
"shall  be  taken,  accepted,  and  reputed  the  only 
supreme  head  on  earth  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  shall  have  and  enjoy  annexed  and  united  to 
the  imperial  crown  of  his  realm  as  well  the  title 
and  state  thereof  as  all  the  honors,  jurisdictions, 
authorities,  immunities,  profits,  and  commodities 
to  the  said  dignity  belonging,  with  full  power  to 
visit,  repress,  redress,  reform,  and  amend  all  such 
errors,  heresies,  abuses,  contempts,  and  enormi- 
ties, w^hich  by  any  manner  of  spiritual  authority 
or  jurisdiction  might  or  may  lawfully  be  re- 
formed." 

•  The  work  of  establishing  the  royal  authority 
and  of  reforming  ecclesiastical  abuses  went  hand 
in  hand.  The  former  led  to  tyranny  and  blood- 
shed. Among  other  victims.  Sir  Thomas  More 
was  beheaded  for  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  king 
as  supreme  head  of  the  Church  in  England.  An 
uprising  in  the  north  was  put  down  with  ruthless 


230  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

severity.  Ireland  was  thoroughly  subdued.  But 
alongside  of  violence,  we  recognize  not  a  few  benef- 
icent changes.  The  Ten  Articles  of  1536,  though 
adhering  in  the  main  to  the  Roman  system  of 
theology,  still  rejected  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope, 
recognized  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
taught  justification  by  faith.  The  excessive  num- 
ber of  holy  da3^s  was  reduced  ;  the  worship  of 
images  and  relics  was  discouraged,  and  pilgrim- 
ages were  suppressed.  In  1538  a  translation  of 
the  Bible  was  put  forth  by  Miles  Coverdale  under 
the  avowed  patronage  of  the  king.  With  this 
fundamental  l3eginning  in  doctrine,  the  future  of 
the  Reformation  in  England  was  assured. 

The  most  thoroughgoing  measure  of  reforma- 
tion at  this  time  related  to  the  monasteries,  which, 
as  already  shown,  had  generally  become  more  or 
less  dissolute.  Two  royal  commissioners  were 
sent  on  a  general  visitation  of  the  religious  houses  ; 
and  in  1536  their  report,  in  the  form  of  a  "  Black 
Book,"  was  laid  before  Parliament.  About  one- 
third  of  the  monasteries,  it  Avas  declared,  were 
decently  conducted  ;  but  the  remaining  two-thirds, 
in  keeping  with  their  general  reputation,  were 
charged  with  drunkenness,  simony,  and  the  most 
revolting  crimes.  As  the  report  was  read,  a  cry 
of  ' '  Down  with  them  ! "  broke  from  the  Commons. 
As  a  result  of  this  investigation,  about  four  hun- 
dred of  the  thousand  monasteries  existing  in 
England  were  dissolved,  and  their  revenues  granted 
to  the  crown. 

Such  was  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation  in  Eng- 
land. It  is  beyond  the  limits  of  this  book  to 
trace  further  the  checkered  and  guilt-stained  career 
of  Henry  YIII.  He  died  in  1547,  the  year  after 
the  death  of  Luther,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Edward  YI.     During  the  reign  of    Edward, 


REFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  231 

the  evangelical  movement,  under  the  direction  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer,  made  rapid  progress.  It 
was  followed  by  a  Papal  reaction  under  Mary, 
who  endeavored  to  quench  the  Protestant  spirit  in 
blood.  But  finally,  under  Elizabeth,  who  came 
to  the  throne  in  1558,  Protestantism  became  the 
established  faith  of  England.  The  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer,  first  prepared  under  Edward  VI., 
was  revised  in  1560,  and  two  years  later  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  were  adopted.  From  this 
period  dates  the  great  power  and  prosperity  of  the 
English  people. 

3.  The  Lutheran  Reformation,  by  a  natural  aud 
easy  process,  extended  itself  over  northern  Europe. 
As  has  been  seen,  there  was  Avidespread  dissatis- 
faction with  the  Papacy  and  its  representatives. 
The  writings  of  the  German  reformers  were  eagerly 
read  and  circulated,  and  Scandinavian  students, 
returning  from  the  University  of  Wittenberg, 
became  enthusiastic  missionaries  of  the  evangeli- 
cal faith.  As  a  result,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and 
Norway  were  not  slow  in  joining  the  reformatory 
movement. 

The  first  of  the  Scandinavian  countries  to 
become  Protestant  was  Sweden.  In  1521  a  politi- 
cal revolution  placed  Gustavus  Vasa  on  the  throne. 
The  hostility  of  the  Roman  clergy  confirmed  him 
in  his  adherence  to  the  Lutheran  faith.  He  ap- 
pointed Olaus  Petersen  preacher  at  Stockholm, 
and  his  brother,  Lawrence  Petersen,  professor  of 
theology.  Both  had  been  students  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wittenberg.  At  a  pul)lic  disputation, 
held  in  L^psala  in  1524,  Olaus  Petersen  triumph- 
antly defended  the  faith  of  the  reformers.  The 
Scriptures,  which  elsewhere  had  proved  so  mighty 
an  influence  in  the  work  of  reform,  were  trans- 
lated into  the  vernacular.     Though  the  movement 


232  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

of  reform  encountered  opposition,  the  king  pre- 
vailed, and  in  1527  Protestantism  became  the 
rehgion  of  the  country.  The  episcopal  form  of 
government  was  transferred,  as  in  the  Church  of 
England,  to  the  new  Lutheran  system. 

At  the  beginning  of  Luther's  reformatory  work, 
Christian  11.  was  king  of  Denmark.  He  regarded 
the  reformer's  Avork  with  favor.  In  1520  he  sent 
for  a  Saxon  preacher  to  serve  as  his  chaplain,  and 
later  invited  Luther  himself  to  his  kingdom  ;  but 
subsequently,  under  the  stress  of  political  interests, 
he  renounced  the  Protestant  cause. 

He  was  succeeded  in  1523  by  Frederick  I., 
Duke  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein.  Though  bound 
at  first,  by  the  terms  of  his  election,  to  uphold 
the  Papal  system,  Frederick  several  years  later 
avowed  his  adherence  to  the  Reformation.  John 
Taussen,  who  has  been  characterized  as  the  Danish 
Luther,  was  called  as  preacher  to  Copenhagen. 
The  foundation  of  a  general  reformation  was  laid 
in  1527  at  the  Diet  of  Odense,  where  it  was  or- 
dained that  Lutheranism  should  be  tolerated,  that 
episcopal  ordination  should  proceed  from  the 
king,  and  that  priests  should  be  allowed  to  marry. 
From  this  time  the  Reformation  spread  rapidly 
among  the  people. 

His  son.  Christian  III.,  whose  accession  to  the 
throne  had  l^een  vigorously  opposed  by  the  clergy, 
comj)letely  established  the  Reformation.  He  had 
been  present  at  the  Diet  of  Worms,  where  Luther's 
heroic  courage  won  his  admiration.  He  resolved 
to  put  an  end  to  the  machinations  of  the  Papal 
clergy  ;  and,  accordingly,  at  the  Diet  of  Copen- 
hagen, he  had  the  bishops  formally  deposed. 
Their  property  was  turned  into  the  royal  treasury  ; 
the  monasteries  were  dissolved  ;  and,  in  their 
2^1ace,  hospitals  and  schools  were  founded.     Bugen- 


REFORMATION  IN  OTHER  PARTS  OF  EUROPE.  233 

hagen,  the  friend  of  Luther,  was  called  to  reor- 
ganize the  Church.  The  Augsburg  Confession 
became  the  standard  of  doctrine  ;  and  bishops  or 
superintendents,  consecrated  by  Bugenhagen  him- 
self, were  placed  over  the  several  dioceses.  The 
University  of  Copenhagen  was  organized,  and 
other  schools  of  learning  were  established  through- 
out the  kingdom.  A  simultaneous  reformation 
went  forward  in  Norway,  which,  in  1536,  had 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Danish  king. 

4.  It  is  beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  volume 
to  trace  the  Reformation  in  other  countries.  All 
Europe  felt  the  shock  of  contending  faiths  and  in- 
terests. With  the  exception  of  Scotland,  it  was 
the  Teutonic  nations  that  adopted  the  evangelical 
faith  and  threw  off  Papal  tyranny.  In  France, 
the  Reformation  gained  many  adherents  ;  but  after 
several  cruel  religious  wars  and  the  infamous  mas- 
sacre of  St.  Bartholomew's  eve.  Protestantism 
w^as  finally  overthrown  by  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  in  1685.  ''The  Genius  of  Fact 
and  Veracity,"  says  Carlyle  in  a  remarkable 
chapter,  ' '  accordingly  withdrew  :  was  staved  off, 
got  kept  away  for  two  hundred  years.  But  the 
writ  of  summons  had  been  served  ;  Heaven's 
messenger  could  not  stay  away  forever.  No  ;  he 
returned  duly  ;  with  accounts  run  up,  on  com- 
pound interest,  to  the  actual  hour,  in  1792  ;  and 
then,  at  last,  there  had  to  be  a  '  Protestantism  ;  ' 
and  we  know  of  what  kind  that  was  !  "  * 

In  reference  to  Italy  we  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  the  great  Scotchman  further.  ' '  Italy, 
too,"  he  says,  "had  its  Protestants;  but  Italy 
killed  them  ;  managed  to  extinguish  Protest- 
antism. Italy  put  up  silently  with  Practical  Lies 
of  all   kinds  ;  and,  shrugging   its  shoulders,  pre- 

*  Carlyle's  "  Life  of  Frederick  the  Great,"  Book  III.,  Chap.  VIII. 


234  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

ferred  going  into  Dilettantism  and  the  Fine  Arts. 
The  Itahans,  instead  of  the  sacred  service  of  Fact 
and  Performance,  did  Music,  Painting,  and  the 
Hke  ;  till  even  that  has  become  impossible  for 
them  ;  and  no  noble  Nation,  sunk  from  virtue  to 
virtu,  ever  offered  such  a  spectacle  before.  He 
that  will  prefer  Dilettantism  in  this  world  for  his 
outfit  shall  have  it ;  but  all  the  gods  will  depart 
from  him  ;  and  manful  veracity,  earnestness  of 
purpose,  devout  depth  of  soul,  shall  no  more  be 
his.  He  can,  if  he  like,  make  himself  a  soprano, 
and  sing  for  hire  ;  and  probably  that  is  the  real 
goal  for  him." 

In  Spain  the  evangelical  movement  was  crushed 
out  b}^  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition.  The  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  life  of  the  people  was  cruelly 
repressed,  and  the  way  for  national  decadence 
effectually  prepared.  The  effort  to  establish,  by 
cruel,  inquisitorial  methods.  Papal  and  monarchi- 
cal supremacy  closed  the  doors  to  all  progress. 
Ignorance,  servility,  and  moral  decay  followed  ; 
and  before  many  decades  had  passed  the  people 
that  had  dominated  Europe  and  founded  a 
mighty  empire  beyond  the  seas  sunk  to  a 
subordinate  place  in  the  family  of  nations. 


CONCLUSION. 

We  have  traced  the  beginnmgs  of  the  Reforma- 
tion and  the  conditions  that  originated  it.  The 
Reformation  in  its  origin  was  based  on  Scriptural 
truth  ;  and  in  its  earher  stages  it  exhibited  a 
triumphant  energy  and  power.  In  the  course  of 
a  few  decades  it  wrested  the  northern  part  of 
Europe  from  thralldom  to  the  Papacy.  For  a 
time  the  reformatory  movement  seemed  destined 
to  overthrow  entirely  the  hierarchical  despotism 
of  Rome.  How  was  it  that  its  progress  was 
stayed  and  that  some  of  its  conquests  were  lost? 
Why  is  it  that  no  nation  has  embraced  the  Prot- 
estant faith  in  the  last  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ?  Why  is  it  that  Protestantism  can  do  little 
more  than  hold  its  own  to-day  against  aggressive 
Romanism?  The  answers  to  these  inquiries  are 
both  interesting  and  instructive. 

As  we  look  at  the  condition  and  spirit  of  the 
contending  forces  in  the  second  half  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  we  discover  an  astonishing  trans- 
formation. Protestantism  and  Romanism  in  a 
measure  change  character.  The  Reformation  loses 
its  primitive  vigor,  and  the  Papacy  exhibits  a  re- 
newed vitality.  While  the  energies  of  the  re- 
formatory movement  suffer  a  decline  or  dissipate 
themselves  in  fratricidal  conflicts,  the  energies  of 
the  Papacy  are  united  and  hurled  with  i)ersistent 
force  upon  the  weakened  lines  of  their  opponents. 
The  tide  of  Protestantism  is  rolled  back  from  the 
Alps  and  Pyrenees  toward  the  Baltic  ;  and  the 
(235) 


236  THE    EEFORMATION    DAWN. 

ground  then  lost  to  the  Reformation  has  not  since 
been  regained.  It  is  important  to  trace  this 
transformation  and  its  results  in  some  detail. 

1.  An  unmistakable  source  of  weakness  in 
Protestantism  was  its  diversities  of  creed.  At  first 
the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Reformation 
were  few  and  simple.  On  the  basis  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, all  the  reformers  held  alike  to  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  ^^^ord  of  God,  to  justification  by 
faith,  and  to  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers. 
They  were  united  in  their  opposition  to  the  errors 
and  tyranny  of  the  Papacy.  But  in  the  course 
of  a  few  decades  the  leading  reformers,  advancing 
])eyond  the  simplicity  of  these  fundamental  prin- 
ciples, developed  more  or  less  elaborate  systems 
of  doctrine.  Though  professing  to  be  based  on 
Scripture  or  to  stand  in  accord  with  it,  these  va- 
rious systems  exhibited  consideraljle  diversity. 
Though  agreeing  in  the  three  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  the  Reformation,  Luther,  Zwingli,  and 
Calvin  did  not,  in  some  points,  interpret  the 
Scriptures  alike  ;  and  thus  arose  the  dogmatic 
systems  associated  with  their  names. 

But  this  was  not  all.  Within  these  larger  sys- 
tems there  were  many  minor  differences  or  ten- 
dencies, each  of  which  was  championed  by  zealous 
theologians.  This  was  particularly  true  in  Ger- 
many, where  the  Lutheran  Church  fell  into  violent 
controversies.  The  points  of  faith  thus  brought 
under  discussion — the  relation  of  the  law  to  the 
Gospel,  the  nature  of  justification  and  sanctifica- 
tion,  the  place  of  the  will  in  conversion,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  others — were 
no  doubt  of  importance.  But  it  seems  unfortu- 
nate, while  engaged  in  a  mortal  struggle  with  the 
Papacy,  to  have  divided  the  forces  of  the  Protest- 
ant Church  over  these  points.     These  differences  of 


CONCLUSION.  237 

belief,  in  connection  with  the  immoderate  contro- 
versies often  attending  them,  dissipated  the  ener- 
gies of  the  reformers,  confused  in  a  measure  pubHc 
opinion,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Papacy 
a  powerful  weapon.  Regarding  external  unity 
as  an  essential  mark  of  the  true  Church,  the 
Romanist  has  always  delighted  in  pointing  to 
Protestant  divisions  and  differences  as  an  un- 
answerable condemnation  of  the  Reformation. 
The  force  of  this  argument  can  be  broken  only  by 
a  closer  union  of  the  different  branches  of 
Protestantism. 

2.  A  second  source  of  weakness  to  the  Protest- 
ant cause  was  its  spirit  of  intolerance.  At  bottom 
the  Reformation  rested  on  the  principle  of  liberty 
of  conscience.  Luther  mightily  voiced  this  prin- 
ciple at  the  Diet  of  Worms,  when,  confronted  by 
the  combined  authority  of  the  Papacy  and  the 
empire,  he  declared  :  ' '  Unless  I  can  be  convinced 
by  Holy  Scripture,  or  by  clear  and  indisputable 
reasons  from  other  sources  (for  I  cannot  defer 
simply  to  the  Pope  or  to  Councils,  since  it  is  clear 
that  they  have  often  erred),  I  neither  can  nor  Avill 
retract  anything.  As  it  has  been  found  impos- 
sible to  refute  the  proofs  I  have  quoted,  my  con- 
science is  a  prisoner  to  God's  Word  ;  and  no  one 
can  be  compelled  to  act  against  his  conscience." 
Without  recognizing  the  liberty  of  conscience, 
which  the  Papal  Church  uniformly  and  per- 
sistently denies,  it  is  impossible  to  vindicate  the 
Reformation. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  there  was,  perhaps,  no 
part  of  the  Protestant  Church  that  did  not  practi- 
cally ignore  this  fundamental  principle.  The 
Papal  principle  of  intolerance  and  jDersecution 
was  everywhere  adopted  and  practiced.  The  va- 
rious  divisions  of    Protestantism    laid  claims  to 


238  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

Scriptural  purity  of  doctrine  ;  and  ignoring  the 
right  of  freedom  of  conscience,  they  persecuted 
those  of  a  different  faith.  "In  the  Palatinate, ' ' 
to  use  the  words  of  ^lacaulay,  ' '  a  Calvinistic 
prince  persecuted  the  Lutherans.  In  Saxony,  a 
Lutheran  prince  persecuted  the  Calvinists.  Every- 
body who  objected  to  any  of  the  articles  of  the 
Confession  of  Augsburg  was  banished  from 
Sweden.  In  Scotland,  Melville  was  disputing 
with  other  Protestants  on  questions  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal government.  In  England  the  jails  were  filled 
with  men  who,  though  zealous  for  the  Reforma- 
tion, did  not  exactl}'  agree  with  the  court  on  all 
points  of  discipline  and  doctrine. ' '  ^-^ 

3.  A  third  source  of  weakness  to  the  Protestant 
movement  was  the  fanaticism  into  which  some  of 
its  ultra  adherents  fell.  In  a  period  of  intel- 
lectual upheaval  and  change,  it  was  but  natural 
that  unl)alanced  spirits  should  run  to  extremes. 
AVhen  the  bonds  of  Papal  despotism  were  once 
broken,  it  was  natural  for  radical  minds  to  abuse 
their  newly  found  liberty.  Though  firmly  re- 
f^isted  by  the  great  body  of  reformers,  these  ex- 
treme and  lawless  tendencies  were  charged  by 
Romanists  to  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  ; 
and  through  the  conflicts  that  attended  them,  these 
outbreaks  wasted  the  energies  of  the  Protestant 
movement,  and  among  many  thoughtful  people 
excited  grave  apprehensions  as  to  the  results  of 
the  Reformation. 

These  fanatical  tendencies  took  in  general  tw<^ 
directions.  The  first  was  an  extreme  type  of 
mysticism,  the  principal  representative  of  which 
was  Caspar  Schwenkfeld.  The  inner  light  of  the 
Spirit — a  princii)le  that  leads  to  every  species  of 

*  Macaulay's  "  Essay  on  Von  Rauke,"  which  is  a  remarkable  discus- 
sion of  the  subject  in  hand. 


CONCLUSION.  239 

error  and  fanaticism — was  exalted  above  the  ob- 
jective light  of  Scrii)ture.  Luther's  adherence  to 
the  authority  of  the  written  Word  was  stigmatized 
as  bondage  to  the  letter.  A  sul^jective  spiritual 
life  was  so  exalted  that  all  ecclesiastical  rites  and 
forms  of  worship  were  rejected.  Infant  baptism 
was  discarded,  and  the  doctrine  of  sinless  perfec- 
tion was  inculcated.  These  principles  were  sub- 
versive both  of  Protestantism  and  Romanism ; 
and  though  in  general  these  misguided  mystics 
and  fanatics  led  morally  irreproachable  lives,  they 
were  everywhere  subject  to  persecution. 

The  other  extreme,  which  is  known  as  Ana- 
baptism,  was  much  more  fanatical  and  violent. 
Early  in  the  Reformation,  the  Zwickau  prophets, 
who  made  pretense  to  special  revelations,  appeared 
at  Wittenberg,  and  for  a  time  thrcAV  the  reformers 
into  consternation.  From  Allstiidt,  in  Saxony, 
Thomas  Miinzer  denounced  the  Reformation  as 
vehemently  as  he  denounced  the  Papacy.  "Not 
the  letter  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, ' '  he  said,  ' '  but 
the  Spirit  should  be  made  the  principle  of  the 
Reformation  ;  not  only  all  ecclesiastical,  but  all 
civil  institutions  should  be  abolished  and  spirit- 
ualized. The  doctrine  of  the  evangelical  liberty 
of  Christians  was  grossly  abused,  the  sacraments 
despised,  infant  baptism  reviled,  and  all  import- 
ance attached  to  the  so-called  baptism  of  the 
Spirit.  Princes  should  be  driven  away,  the  foes 
of  the  Gospel  be  extirpated  with  the  sw^ord,  and 
all  possessions  be  held  in  common. "  *  At  Miins- 
ter  a  fanatical  theocracy  was  established  for  a 
time  ;  and  the  king,  setting  up  a  splendid  court, 
claimed  authority  to  inaugurate  the  millennium. 
These  fanatical  outl^reaks  everywhere  followed  tlie 
Reformation,  and  tended  to  bring  it  into  discredit. 

*  Kurtz's  "  Church  History,"  II.,  p.  44. 


240  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

4.  Still  another  source  of  weakness  to  Protest- 
antism was  the  general  decline  of  zeal.  In  the 
beginning  the  Reformation  was  hailed  with  en- 
thusiasm. In  his  attack  upon  Papal  error  and 
tyranny.  Luther  found  ardent  supporters  through- 
out the  Germanic  nations.  The  newly  restored 
Gospel  was  not  without  adherents  in  the  Latin 
countries  of  Europe.  But  in  the  second  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  this  enthusiasm,  to  a  great 
extent,  died  away.  There  was  an  absence  of  great 
leaders.  No  systematic  or  energetic  effort  was 
made  to  extend  the  work  of  the  Reformation.  In 
some  measure  this  decline  of  interest  and  activity 
was,  perhaps,  the  natural  reaction  that  attends 
every  extraordinary  outburst  of  feeling  and  energy. 
But  it  seems  to  have  been  due  still  more  to  the 
lack  of  union  and  co-operation.  Dissensions 
aAvakened  doubts  ;  fanatical  excesses  aroused  ap- 
prehension ;  and  l^itter  controversies  over  minor 
dogmas  offended  the  practical  sense  of  the  laity. 
No  united  front,  at  once  the  source  of  confidence 
and  power,  was  presented  to  the  Papacy. 

This  lack  of  zeal  was  particularly  noticeable 
among  Protestant  rulers.  Among  them,  as  Ma- 
caulay  says,  ' '  there  was  little  or  no  hearty  Prot- 
estant feeling.  Elizabeth  herself  was  a  Protestant 
rather  from  policy  than  from  firm  conviction. 
James  the  First,  in  order  to  effect  his  favorite 
object  of  marrying  his  son  into  one  of  the  great 
continental  houses,  was  ready  to  make  immense 
concessions  to  Rome,  and  even  to  admit  a  modi- 
fied primacy  in  the  Pope.  Henry  the  Fourth 
twice  abjured  the  reformed  doctrines  from  inter- 
ested motives.  The  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  natu- 
ral head  of  the  Protestant  party  in  Germany, 
submitted  to  become,  at  the  most  important  crisis 
of  the  struggle^  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  Papists." 


CONCLUSION.  241 

5.  While  lilvisions,  conflicts,  anfi  fanaticism 
Avere  weakening  the  forces  of  Protestantism,  the 
Papacy  was  roused  to  new  Hfe.  ReaUzing  that  its 
existence  was  at  stake,  it  adopted  comprehensive 
and  vigorous  measures  of  self-preservation.  The 
first  of  these  measures  was  a  partial  counter- 
reformation.  As  it  has  always  done  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  vital  Protestantism,  the  Papac}^,  to  some 
extent,  corrected  the  abuses  to  which  its  system 
inevitabl}'  tends.  The  scandalous  apathy  and 
worldliness  of  the  hierarchy  Avere  thrown  off. 
Successive  Popes  reinforced  their  great  admin- 
istrative ability  with  lives  of  consistent  piety. 
The  various  monastic  orders  exhibited  something 
of  their  original  self-denial  and  fervor.  An  aston- 
ishing missionary  activity  in  the  Orient  and  the 
ncAv  world  fully  made  up  for  the  losses  sustained 
by  the  Church  in  Europe.  The  Council  of  Trent, 
while  authoritatively  anathematizing  the  funda- 
mental teachings  of  the  reformers,  gave  clear  and 
definite  statement  to  the  dogmas  of  Rome.  The 
results  of  this  counter-reformation,  partial  and 
temporary  as  it  was,  may  l)e  easily  imagined.  In 
some  measure  it  removed  the  grounds  of  dissatis- 
faction and  hostility,  conciliated  the  favor  of  the 
irresolute,  and  inspired  new  confidence  in  the 
adherents  of  the  Roman  Church. 

G.  The  external  unity  of  the  Roman  Church 
proved  a  source  of  great  strength.  The  organiza- 
tion of  the  Papacy  had  l)een  brought  to  a  high 
degree  of  perfection  by  thirty  generations  of  ag- 
gressive ecclesiastical  princes.  AA" hile  Protestant- 
ism was  divided  not  only  into  national  churches, 
but  also  into  minor  and  hostile  sects,  the  tre- 
mendous agencies  of  Rome  were  all  united  under 
a  masterful  central  power.  Tliis  unity  secured  a 
comprehensive  method  of  operations  and  a  wise 
16 


242  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

disposition  of  forces.  Under  the  circumstances 
we  are  compelled  to  wonder,  not  that  the  progress 
of  Protestantism  was  stayecl,  but  that  it  was  not 
swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Had  the  Ref- 
ormation not  rested  on  truth,  divine  and  inde- 
structible, it  must  have  perished  in  the  unequal 
conflict. 

7.  The  Order  of  Jesuits,  founded  by  the  S23anisli 
enthusiast,  Ignatius  Loyola,  proved  a  mighty 
agency  in  combating  the  Reformation  and  in  re- 
storing the  power  of  the  Papacy.  The  members 
of  the  Order,  who  were  generally  men  of  ability, 
were  pledged  to  absolute  obedience  to  their  supe- 
riors. The  society  was  ruled  by  a  general  in 
Rome,  whose  will  Avas  law.  All  that  is  ordinarily 
held  dear  by  the  human  heart  was  sacrificed  to 
the  interests  of  the  Order  and  the  Church.  The 
organization  rapidly  spread  in  Europe,  and  its 
missionaries,  with  heroic  courage  and  self-sacrifice, 
extended  the  sway  of  the  Papacy  in  India,  China, 
and  the  continents  of  America.  "The  Order," 
to  adopt  the  words  of  Kurtz,  ' '  made  all  conceiv- 
able means — science,  learning,  art,  cultivation, 
politics,  even  commerce  and  trade — subservient  to 
its  purposes.  It  seized  the  management  of  the 
education  of  the  youth  of  the  higher  classes  of 
society,  and  thus  trained  devoted  and  powerful 
friends  ;  by  preaching  and  private  counsel,  it 
operated  upon  the  people,  and  in  the  confessional 
secured  control  over  princes,  and  penetrated  into 
all  the  relationships  of  life,  and  obtained  posses- 
sion of  all  secrets.  And  all  these  thousands  of 
means,  these  eminent  powers  and  talents,  were 
united  under  one  will,  served  one  purpose  ;  posi- 
tively, the  furtherance  of  [Roman]  Catholicism  ; 
negatively,  the  suppression  of  Protestantism."  * 

*  Kurtz's  "  Church  History,"  II.,  p.  165. 


CONCLUSION.  243 

In  their  fierce  determination  to  overthrow  Prot- 
estantism, the  Jesuits  devised  an  abominable  sys- 
tem of  ethics.  Among  other  principles  they 
maintained  :  1.  That  the  end  sanctifies  the  means  ; 
2.  That  an  act  is  justifiable  or  excusable  when 
there  is  A  probability  of  its  goodness  ;  3.  That 
mental  reservations  are  allowable  in  making  ]H'om- 
ises  or  taking  oaths,  and  that  the  person  so  ol:)]i- 
gating  himself  is  bound  onl}-  by  his  intentions  ; 
and,  4.  That  only  such  violations  of  a  divine 
command  are  sin  as  are  perpetrated  with  full  con- 
sciousness of  the  wrong,  and  with  a  set  purpose 
to  break  God's  law.  It  is  evident  that  with  such 
principles  there  Avas  no  crime  which  the  Jesuits 
might  not  commit  in  the  name  of  religion.  Among 
all  the  agencies  employed  by  the  Papacy,  there 
was  none,  perhaps,  that  accom])lished  more  in 
arresting  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  than  the 
Order  of  Jesuits. 

8.  The  zeal  manifested  throughout  the  different 
parts  of  the  Roman  Church  added  immensely  to 
its  strength.  The  Papacy  has  always  had  the 
power  of  inspiring  a  martyr-like  devotion  in  its 
cliildren.  The  sense  of  danger  rallied  all  classes 
to  its  support.  It  skillfully  utilized  the  agency  of 
enthusiasts.  The  great  end  to  be  accomplished, 
which  was  nothing  less  than  the '  subjugation  of 
the  world  under  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  strongly  a})- 
j)ealed  to  the  imagination.  Priests,  missionaries, 
princes,  all  labored  with  zealous  activity  for  the 
Avelfare  of  the  Roman  Church.  Italy  and  Spain, 
fanatical  in  their  opposition  to  the  Reformation, 
ruthlessly  employed  the  Inquisition  for  its  exter- 
mination. 

Papal  zeal  stood  in  striking  contrast  with  Prot- 
estant apath3\  "Among  the  [Roman]  Catholic 
sovereigns, ' '  to  quote  again  fr(jm  Macaulay,  ' '  we 


244  THE    REFORMATION    DAWN. 

find  a  religious  zeal  often  amounting  to  fanaticism. 
Philip  the  Second  was  a  Papist  in  a  very  different 
sense  from  that  in  which  Elizabeth  was  a  Prot- 
estant. Maximilian  of  Bavaria,  brought  u])  under 
the  teaching  of  the  Jesuits,  was  a  fervent  mission- 
ary^, wielding  the  powers  of  a  prince.  The  Em- 
peror Ferdinand  the  Second  deliberately  put  his 
throne  to  hazard  over  and  over  again,  rather  than 
make  the  smallest  concession  to  the  spirit  of  re- 
ligious innovation.  Sigismund  of  Sweden  lost  a 
crown  which  he  might  have  preserved  if  he  would 
have  renounced  the  [Roman]  Catholic  faith.  In 
short,  everywhere  on  the  Protestant  side  we  see 
languor  ;  everywhere  on  the  [Roman]  Catholic 
side  we  see  ardor  and  devotion." 

The  foregoing  facts  make  clear  to  us  the  unfor- 
tunate check  of  the  Reformation.  In  no  small 
degree  the  same  conditions  exist  to-day,  bringing 
weakness  to  Protestantism  and  strength  to  Ro- 
manism. On  the  one  side  there  are  divisions, 
discord,  and  apathy  ;  on  the  other,  unity,  co- 
operation, and  zeal.  What  of  the  future  ?  There 
are  thoughtful  people  who  entertain  grave  fears 
of  the  Papal  power,  particularly  in  our  own 
country.  Its  claim  to  universal  sovereignty  is 
asserted  to-day,  as  it  was  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
its  intolerance  of  all  other  beliefs  has  been  de- 
clared in  recent  decrees.  It  is  seeking,  as  it  always 
has  sought,  to  make  the  Church  dominant  in  the 
state.  It  has  set  itself  against  the  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom  that  distinguishes  modern  Prot- 
estant civilization.  It  has  shown  itself  hostile  to 
modern  science  and  literature  ;  and,  claiming  edu- 
cation as  an  ecclesiastical  function,  it  is  seeking  to 
destroy  or  to  get  control  of  our  public  schools. 
It  has  entered  politics  for  the  advancement  of 
ecclesiastical  interests,  and  in  various  cities  of  our 


CONCLUSION.  245 

country,  and  even  in  Congress,  has  gained  im- 
portant concessions  and  large  gifts  of  money.  It 
is  active,  organized,  and  aggressive  as  never  before 
in  tlie  history  of  our  country. 

But  in  spite  of  the  strength  derived  from  its 
united  and  zealous  effort,  Rome  is  destined  to  de- 
feat. The  divine  logic  of  events  is  against  it.  It 
is  slowh"  losing  ground  among  the  nations  ;  and 
the  wails  that  reach  us  at  intervals  from  ''the 
j)risoner  of  the  Vatican ' '  reveal  a  consciousness 
of  waning  jDOAver.  The  demands  which  the  Pap- 
acy makes  upon  the  credulity  and  manhood  of  its 
adherents  are  too  great  for  the  growing  intelli- 
gence of  the  world.  Its  attitude  toward  civil  gov- 
ernment is  felt  more  and  more  to  be  impudent 
and  intolerable.  It  stands  for  medinevalism  in 
faith  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny  :  and  whenever 
mediae valism  and  Protestant  progress  are  brought 
into  conflict,  it  is  the  former  that  suffers  defeat. 
There  is  a  divine  power,  resistless  and  invincible, 
in  the  light  and  truth  that  underlie  the  advance- 
ment of  our  race  ;  and  the  Papacy,  which  is 
stubbornly  attempting  to  check  the  tide  of  human 
progress,  is  destined,  sooner  or  later,  to  be  swept 
away. 


THE    END. 


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